Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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The Internet may be the most powerful information tool currently available to medical professionals. The first article in this Internet series (Reg Anesth Pain Med 1999;24:369-374) served as an introduction to the World Wide Web, while this article describes specific resources available to anesthesiologists searching for medical information. ⋯ This series of articles on information technology describes a number of resources. Inclusion in this article does not imply endorsement or support by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA-PM). Each reader is encouraged to personally evaluate specific websites because of the rapidly changing content and location of information on the Internet. This article is available on the ASRA-PM website (www.ASRA.com) with updated links to websites in this article.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2000
Clinical Trial1,001 subclavian perivascular brachial plexus blocks: success with a nerve stimulator.
Among the supraclavicular approaches to the brachial plexus, the subclavian perivascular technique is a well-established method of anesthesia of the upper extremity. Ever since Kulenkampf described his technique, eliciting a paresthesia has been almost mandatory ("no paresthesia, no anesthesia"). Lately, nerve stimulators have become more popular. However, up to the present time, clinical studies involving the nerve stimulator have failed to show success rates comparable to paresthesia techniques. ⋯ The subclavian perivascular block consistently provides an effective block for surgery on the upper extremity. At the site of injection with this technique, the plexus is reduced to its smallest components and the sheath is reduced to its smallest volume, which explains in great part the success obtained with this block. We believe that we have demonstrated a nerve stimulator technique that is both highly successful and safe; no clinical pneumothorax was found nor did any other major complications develop.