Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyRandomized prospective trial of cooled versus traditional radiofrequency ablation of the medial branch nerves for the treatment of lumbar facet joint pain.
No previous study has assessed the outcomes of cooled radiofrequency ablation (C-RFA) of the medial branch nerves (MBN) for the treatment of lumbar facet joint pain nor compared its effectiveness with traditional RFA (T-RFA). This study evaluated 6-month outcomes for pain, function, psychometrics, and medication usage in patients who underwent MBN C-RFA versus T-RFA for lumbar Z-joint pain. ⋯ When using a single diagnostic block paradigm with a threshold of >75% pain reduction, both treatment with both C-RFA and T-RFA resulted in a success rate of approximately 50% when defined by both improvement in pain and physical function at 6-month follow-up. While the success rate was higher in the C-RFA group, this difference was not statistically significant.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialClinical effectiveness of single dose of intravenous dexamethasone on the duration of ropivacaine axillary brachial plexus block: the randomized placebo-controlled ADEXA trial.
The effect of intravenous dexamethasone on the duration of axillary plexus block performed using ropivacaine is not described. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of intravenous dexamethasone on the duration of axillary plexus block analgesia after distal upper arm surgery. ⋯ This study showed that intravenous dexamethasone delayed for 6 hours the time to first analgesic intake after upper arm surgery under axillary plexus block performed with the long-lasting local anesthetic ropivacaine. This suggests that intravenous dexamethasone could be an interesting adjuvant to axillary plexus block.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Randomized controlled trial of a simplified adductor canal block performed for analgesia following total knee arthroplasty.
The objective of the study was to determine if injection of local anesthetic into the vastus medialis and sartorius muscles adjacent to the adductor canal produces sensory changes comparable with adductor canal block (ACB). This could result in a technically easier and potentially safer alternative to ACB. ⋯ The SAC block is technically easier to perform and potentially safer than ACB. This procedure can be performed using easily visible ultrasound landmarks and has the potential for use among a wide range of healthcare providers.