Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized trial comparing the spread of erector spinae block with the combination of erector spinae block and retrolaminar block in soft embalmed Thiel cadavers.
Erector spinae plane (ESP) and retrolaminar (RL) blocks show unreliable spread. We hypothesize that the combination of ESP and RL blocks provides more extensive and reliable spread of dye than single ESP blocks. Our primary objective was to compare the spread of dye to the paravertebral spaces after the combination block and ESP block in Thiel embalmed cadavers. Spread, the primary end point, was defined as the number of paravertebral spaces colored with dye per injection. ⋯ In conclusion, the combination of ESP and RL blocks was more extensive and reliable than ESP block alone.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2021
ReviewAmerican Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine expert panel recommendations on point-of-care ultrasound education and training for regional anesthesiologists and pain physicians-part II: recommendations.
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a critical skill for all regional anesthesiologists and pain physicians to help diagnose relevant complications related to routine practice and guide perioperative management. In an effort to inform the regional anesthesia and pain community as well as address a need for structured education and training, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Society (ASRA) commissioned this narrative review to provide recommendations for POCUS. ⋯ It also discusses barriers to POCUS education and training and proposes a list of educational resources. For each POCUS section, learning goals and specific skills were presented in the Indication, Acquisition, Interpretation, and Medical decision-making framework.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2021
Case ReportsMultiple myeloma and malignant lesions: a potential risk factor for local anesthetic systemic toxicity.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells that often leads to complications including osteolytic bone lesions, nephropathy and neuropathy. Multiple myeloma is only one etiology of many cancer pain conditions that may necessitate interventional pain treatment when refractory to multimodal medications. Notably, local anesthetic systemic toxicity is a rare but life-threatening complication of local anesthetic administered for these interventions. ⋯ Patients with oncologic lesions focal to the thoracolumbar spine may be at higher risk for local anesthetic systemic toxicity from palliative epidurals due to increased cancer-related angiogenesis. Likewise, local anesthetic infiltration for procedures near any malignant sites could have a similar risk and may require lower initial fractionated dosages with increased vigilance.