Articles: nerve-block.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Mar 2004
Case ReportsApplication of a mandibular nerve block using an indwelling catheter for intractable cancer pain.
We report a case in which a mandibular nerve block using an indwelling catheter was employed for pain management in a terminal case of orofacial cancer. The patient was a 74-year-old female weighing 27 kg. She had a 27-month history of mouth floor and tongue cancer. ⋯ Second, a neurolytic block was applied to the mandibular nerve through the catheter. After the neurolytic block, the total dosage of morphine and diclofenac remained unchanged for 2 months. We conclude from the present case that this technique is an excellent means of obtaining long-term pain control in patients with intractable orofacial cancer pain.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2004
Clinical TrialAnalgesia after total knee arthroplasty: is continuous sciatic blockade needed in addition to continuous femoral blockade?
Continuous femoral "3-in-1" nerve blocks are commonly used for analgesia after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). There are conflicting data as to whether additional sciatic blockade is needed. Our routine use of both continuous femoral (CFI) and sciatic (CSI) peripheral nerve blocks was changed because of concerns that sciatic blockade, and its motor consequences in particular, might obscure diagnosis of perioperative sciatic nerve injury. ⋯ Within 1 h of a 5-10 mL CSI bolus of 0.2% ropivacaine and beginning an infusion of the same drug at 5 mL/h, patients' median pain by verbal analog scale decreased from 7.5 to 2.0 (mean scores from 7.3 to 2.4). It was possible to maintain this level of analgesia until the third postoperative day when catheters were discontinued. Our experience suggests that, in most patients, adequate analgesia after TKA cannot be achieved with CFI alone and that the addition of CSI renders a significant improvement in analgesia.