Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2012
Review Meta AnalysisContinuous peripheral nerve block compared with single-injection peripheral nerve block: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Many practitioners consider continuous peripheral nerve blocks (cPNBs) to be superior to single-injection peripheral nerve blocks (siPNBs). Several randomized controlled trials have demonstrated improved pain control, patient satisfaction, and other outcomes for patients with cPNBs compared with patients with siPNBs, whereas other trials have not shown significant differences. We sought to clarify any potential advantages of cPNBs over siPNBs. ⋯ Compared with siPNBs, cPNBs were associated with improved pain control, decreased need for opioid analgesics, less nausea, and greater patient satisfaction. The effect of cPNBs on other clinically relevant outcomes, such as complications, long-term functional outcomes, or costs, remains unclear.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2012
Adverse outcomes associated with nerve stimulator-guided and ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks by supervised trainees: update of a single-site database.
We previously published a retrospective review of complications related to peripheral nerve blocks performed by supervised trainees, from our quality assurance and billing data, guided by either ultrasound, with nerve stimulator confirmation, or landmark-based nerve stimulator techniques. This report updates our results, for the period from May 2008 through December 2011, representing ongoing transition to near-complete combined ultrasound/nerve stimulator guidance in a block-oriented, outpatient orthopedic anesthesia practice. ⋯ We report a large series of combined ultrasound/nerve stimulator nerve blocks by supervised trainees without major local anesthetic systemic toxicity. While lacking the compelling evidence of randomized controlled trials, this observational database nonetheless allows increased confidence in the safety of using combined ultrasound/nerve stimulator in the setting of anesthesiologists-in-training.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2012
Practice GuidelineThe American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy, and the Asian Australasian Federation of Pain Societies Joint Committee recommendations for education and training in ultrasound-guided interventional pain procedures.
The use of ultrasound in pain medicine for interventional axial, nonaxial, and musculoskeletal pain procedures is rapidly evolving and growing. Because of the lack of specialty-specific guidelines for ultrasonography in pain medicine, an international collaborative effort consisting of members of the Special Interest Group on Ultrasonography in Pain Medicine from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy, and the Asian Australasian Federation of Pain Societies developed the following recommendations for education and training in ultrasound-guided interventional pain procedures. ⋯ The previously published American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy education and teaching recommendations for ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia served as a foundation for the pain medicine recommendations. Although the decision to grant ultrasound privileges occurs at the institutional level, the committee recommends that the training guidelines outlined in this document serve as the foundation for educational training and the advancement of the practice of ultrasonography in pain medicine.