Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2020
ReviewBlood-brain barrier: mechanisms governing permeability and interaction with peripherally acting μ-opioid receptor antagonists.
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) describes the unique properties of endothelial cells (ECs) that line the central nervous system (CNS) microvasculature. The BBB supports CNS homeostasis via EC-associated transport of ions, nutrients, proteins and waste products between the brain and blood. ⋯ The mechanisms that govern BBB permeability pose a challenge to drug design for CNS disorders, including pain, but can be exploited to limit the effects of a drug to the periphery, as in the design of the peripherally acting μ-opioid receptor antagonists (PAMORAs) used to treat opioid-induced constipation. Here, we describe BBB physiology, drug properties that affect BBB penetrance and how data from randomized clinical trials of PAMORAs improve our understanding of BBB permeability.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2020
Differences in patient characteristics and external validity of randomized clinical trials on pain management following total hip and knee arthroplasty: a systematic review.
The external validity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is critical for the relevance of trial results in a clinical setting. We aimed to assess the external validity of RCTs investigating postoperative pain treatment after total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) by comparing patient characteristics in these trials with a clinical cohort. Further, we assessed the use of exclusion criteria of the included RCTs. ⋯ CRD42019125691.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Aug 2020
ReviewAdjuncts to local anesthetic wound infiltration for postoperative analgesia: a systematic review.
Local anesthetics (LAs) are commonly infiltrated into surgical wounds for postsurgical analgesia. While many adjuncts to LA agents have been studied, it is unclear which adjuncts are most effective for co-infiltration to improve and prolong analgesia. We performed a systematic review on adjuncts (excluding epinephrine) to local infiltrative anesthesia to determine their analgesic efficacy and opioid-sparing properties. ⋯ Our findings suggest benefits of several adjuncts to local infiltrative anesthesia for postoperative analgesia. Further well-powered RCTs are needed to compare various infiltration regimens and agents. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42018103851) (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=103851).
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Aug 2020
ReviewAdjuncts to local anesthetic wound infiltration for postoperative analgesia: a systematic review.
Local anesthetics (LAs) are commonly infiltrated into surgical wounds for postsurgical analgesia. While many adjuncts to LA agents have been studied, it is unclear which adjuncts are most effective for co-infiltration to improve and prolong analgesia. We performed a systematic review on adjuncts (excluding epinephrine) to local infiltrative anesthesia to determine their analgesic efficacy and opioid-sparing properties. ⋯ Our findings suggest benefits of several adjuncts to local infiltrative anesthesia for postoperative analgesia. Further well-powered RCTs are needed to compare various infiltration regimens and agents. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42018103851) (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=103851).
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Aug 2020
ReviewAnatomy of the brachial plexus and its implications for daily clinical practice: regional anesthesia is applied anatomy.
Safety and effectiveness are mandatory requirements for any technique of regional anesthesia and can only be met by clinicians who appropriately understand all relevant anatomical details. Anatomical texts written for anesthetists may oversimplify the facts, presumably in an effort to reconcile extreme complexity with a need to educate as many users as possible. When it comes to techniques as common as upper-extremity blocks, the need for customized anatomical literature is even greater, particularly because the complex anatomy of the brachial plexus has never been described for anesthetists with a focus placed on regional anesthesia. ⋯ They describe the anatomy of the brachial plexus (ventral rami, trunks, divisions, cords, and nerves) in relation to the topographical regions used for access (interscalene gap, posterior triangle of the neck, infraclavicular fossa, and axillary fossa) and discuss the (interscalene, supraclavicular, infraclavicular, and axillary) block procedures associated with these access regions. They indicate allowances to be made for anatomical variations and the topography of fascial anatomy, give recommendations for ultrasound imaging and needle guidance, and explain the risks of excessive volumes and misdirected spreading of local anesthetics in various anatomical contexts. It is hoped that clinicians will find this article to be a useful reference for decision-making, enabling them to select the most appropriate regional anesthetic technique in any given situation, and to correctly judge the risks involved, whenever they prepare patients for a specific upper-limb surgical procedure.