Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2025
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyContinuous erector spinae plane block versus thoracic epidural analgesia in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a prospective randomized open-label non-inferiority trial.
The evolving surgical techniques in thoracoscopic surgery necessitate the exploration of anesthesiological techniques. This study aimed to investigate whether incorporating a continuous erector spinae plane (ESP) block into a multimodal analgesia regimen is non-inferior to continuous thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) in terms of quality of postoperative recovery for patients undergoing elective unilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. ⋯ The continuous ESP block is non-inferior to TEA in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2025
Comparative StudyComplications and opioid-prescribing patterns following genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation versus intra-articular injection: a matched cohort study.
Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation (GNRFA) is an emerging procedure used to relieve pain from severe knee osteoarthritis. While there have been rare reports of significant complications, their incidence has not been well established. The objective of this study was to examine complication rates at 30 and 90 days post treatment as well as characterize opioid-prescribing patterns before and after treatment. ⋯ Our study demonstrated that GNRFA possesses a safety profile similar to that of intra-articular injections although significant adverse events such as venous thromboembolism and septic arthritis may occur rarely. Although opioid utilization generally increased in the 30 days after ablation compared with intra-articular injection, similar reduction in opioid consumption at 6 months was seen in patients with prior opioid use in the ablation and control cohorts.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2025
Financial model for a transitional pain service at a large tertiary academic center in the USA.
Approximately 1 in 10 patients undergoing surgery is considered at high risk for poor pain and opioid-related outcomes due to chronic pain or persistent opioid use prior to surgery, leading to increased hospital lengths of stay, emergency department visits, hospital readmissions, and worse long-term outcomes. Multidisciplinary transitional pain services (TPSs) have been shown to effectively identify and optimize high-risk patients before surgery, leading to a reduction in healthcare utilization. We conducted a series of semistructured interviews, a literature search, and a financial analysis to develop a reproducible business case for establishing a TPS. ⋯ Furthermore, several operational options exist for incorporating a TPS that performs at breakeven or positive net profit. This tool and these findings are important for informing health systems of operational and financial considerations when implementing a TPS program. Future research should evaluate this financial tool's reproducibility in community health system contexts.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2025
Influence of antithrombotic medication on size and neurological outcome of spinal epidural hematoma after neuraxial anesthesia: a systematic review.
Anticoagulation guidelines were developed to reduce the potential risk of epidural bleeding following neuraxial anesthesia. However, the influence of antithrombotic medication on size of spinal epidural hematoma and neurological outcome is unclear. Therefore, our aim was to analyze whether there is a correlation. ⋯ Antithrombotic medication is not significantly associated with hematoma size; however, the use of antithrombotic medication doubled the risk for persistent neurological deficit after spinal epidural hematoma.