Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2024
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudySerratus plane block versus standard of care for pain control after totally endoscopic aortic valve replacement: a double-blind, randomized controlled, superiority trial.
Serratus anterior plane block has been proposed to reduce opioid requirements after minimally invasive cardiac surgery, but high-quality evidence is lacking. ⋯ Combined deep and superficial single-injection serratus anterior plane block is superior to standard of care in reducing opioid requirements and postoperative pain intensity up to 24 hours after totally endoscopic aortic valve replacement.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2024
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of migration rates between traditional and tunneled adductor canal block catheters: a randomized controlled trial.
Total knee arthroplasty is associated with significant postoperative pain. Continuous adductor canal blocks via an inserted adductor canal catheter are effective analgesia interventions with the advantage of decreasing quadriceps weakness and the potential of extending the analgesic effect. The classical adductor canal catheter insertion technique may have a high likelihood of catheter dislodgement out of the canal. The interfascial plane between the sartorius muscle and femoral artery (ISAFE) approach has the potential of decreasing the adductor canal catheter migration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of catheter dislodgment to outside the adductor canal, for ISAFE and classical approaches. We hypothesized that ISAFE approach would result in a lower dislodgment rate. ⋯ ISAFE group had a significantly lower rate of dislodgement at 24 hours. The continuous adductor canal block analgesic benefit for knee arthroplasty depends on the position of the tip of the catheter inside the adductor canal.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2024
Comparative StudyComparison of injectate spread and nerve coverage between single-injection intertransverse process block and paravertebral block at the T2 level: a cadaveric study.
We compared the spread of an injectate into the thoracic sympathetic chain resulting from a single-injection intertransverse process (ITP) block with that of a single-injection PV block at the T2 level. ⋯ At the T2 level, we observed a lower efficacy of the ITP block for analgesic coverage of the sympathetic nerve. This suggested a potential preference by clinicians for the application of the T2 PV block over the ITP block, specifically for the management of sympathetically maintained pain in the upper extremities. In addition, our findings may hint at the potential advantages of the ITP block in specific clinical contexts where targeted nerve involvement, such as the medial branch block or dorsal root ganglion block, is sought.
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Injury to saphenous nerve branches is frequent during knee surgery and can result in chronic pain. This saphenous neuralgia remains challenging to treat. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is a new potential non-pharmacologic treatment option. We present our outcomes experience using this technology in 12 patients. ⋯ Limited effective treatments exist for saphenous neuralgia. Our case series demonstrates the potential of PNS as a treatment for saphenous neuralgia. Comparative effectiveness studies are warranted to assess whether our effect size is clinically relevant.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2024
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in regional anesthesia and pain medicine (Part I): guidelines for preparing the review protocol.
Comprehensive resources exist on how to plan a systematic review and meta-analysis. The objective of this article is to provide guidance to authors preparing their systematic review protocol in the fields of regional anesthesia and pain medicine. The focus is on systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, with or without an aggregate data meta-analysis. ⋯ The review protocol should also document methods used to evaluate risk of bias, quality (certainty) of the evidence, and heterogeneity of results. Furthermore, the authors should describe their plans for managing key data elements, the statistical construct used to estimate the intervention effect, methods of evidence synthesis and meta-analysis, and conditions when meta-analysis may not be possible, including the provision of practical solutions. Authors should provide enough detail in their protocol so that the readers could conduct the study themselves.