Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2024
Randomized Controlled TrialSingle-bolus injection of local anesthetic, with or without continuous infusion, for interscalene brachial plexus block in the setting of multimodal analgesia: a randomized controlled unblinded trial.
Previous trials favored a continuous interscalene brachial plexus block over a single injection for major shoulder surgery. However, these trials did not administer a multimodal analgesic regimen. This randomized, controlled unblinded trial tested the hypothesis that a continuous infusion of local anesthetic for an interscalene brachial plexus block still provides superior analgesia after major shoulder surgery when compared with a single injection in the setting of multimodal analgesia, inclusive of intravenous dexamethasone, magnesium, acetaminophen and ketorolac. ⋯ A continuous infusion of local anesthetic for an interscalene brachial plexus block does not provide superior analgesia after major shoulder surgery when compared with a single injection in the setting of multimodal analgesia, inclusive of intravenous dexamethasone, magnesium, acetaminophen and ketorolac. The findings of this study are limited by performance and detection biases.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2024
Prevalence of and factors associated with stenotic thoracic ligamentum flavum hypertrophy.
Stenotic thoracic ligamentum flavum hypertrophy can cause leg and/or low back pain similar to that caused by lumbar spinal stenosis. However, the thoracic spine may occasionally be overlooked in patients with leg and/or low back pain. An accurate understanding of the prevalence of stenotic thoracic ligamentum flavum hypertrophy and its associated factors is necessary. ⋯ Given the possibility for missed stenotic thoracic ligamentum flavum hypertrophy to potentially result in neurological complications, extending lumbar spine MRI covering the lower thoracic region may be considered for patients over 50 years of age with suspected severe lumbar disc degeneration.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2024
Oral opioid prescribing to active duty US military personnel: a cross-sectional population.
While civilian opioid prescriptions have seen a dramatic decline in recent years, there are few studies investigating trends in opioid prescription in the active duty military population. We evaluated oral opioid prescribing patterns to active duty military personnel in the Military Health System (MHS) from 2017 to 2020 to determine the incidence of opioid prescriptions as well as demographic and military-specific risk factors for receiving an oral opioid prescription. ⋯ The substantial decrease in oral opioid prescriptions to active duty military personnel mirrors data published in the civilian community. The identified risk factors for receiving an opioid prescription may be potential targets for future interventions to further decrease prescribing.
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The clavipectoral fascia plane block (CPB) is a novel anesthetic management strategy proposed by Valdes-Vilches for clavicle fractures. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of the injected solution around the clavicle and the surrounding tissues. ⋯ The CPB effectively distributes the administered solution in the anterosuperior region of the clavicular periosteum, superficial muscular plane, and supraclavicular nerves. However, it does not affect the posteroinferior region of the clavicular periosteum or the deep muscular plane, including the CPF.