Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
The most recent articles from:
Reg Anesth Pain Med
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2009
Editorial CommentUltrasound in pain medicine: advanced weaponry or just a fad?
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA randomized, observer-blinded determination of the median effective volume of local anesthetic required to anesthetize the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa for stimulating and nonstimulating perineural catheters.
Stimulating perineural catheters are developed to overcome technical problems of nonstimulating catheters, but their efficacy remains controversial. However, no volume-response study has compared success rates between stimulating and nonstimulating catheters. This study of stimulating versus nonstimulating catheters compares the minimal effective volume required to successfully block the sciatic nerve in 50% of patients scheduled for unilateral hallux valgus repair. ⋯ Stimulating popliteal catheters dramatically decrease the volume required to block the sciatic nerve in 50% of patients, compared with nonstimulating catheters.