Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Aug 2024
Non-inferiority study assessing the utility of postcervical and lumbar radiofrequency ablation steroid use.
Many physicians administer steroids after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to mitigate postprocedural inflammation and decrease postprocedural pain. However, robust evidence supporting the benefits of steroids after RFA is lacking and steroids have risks. ⋯ This study suggests that the addition of steroids to the RFA procedure does not provide added benefits and is therefore not worth the additional risks that they pose.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2024
One-year opioid consumption trajectories among individuals receiving multidisciplinary postsurgical care: a single-center observational study from the Toronto General Hospital Transitional Pain Service.
The Transitional Pain Service (TPS) is an innovative, personalized approach to postsurgical opioid consumption and pain management. The objectives of this study were to identify trajectories of opioid consumption and pain intensity within 12 months after initiating treatment through the TPS, identify biopsychosocial factors associated with trajectory membership, and examine the relationship between trajectory membership and other outcomes of interest over the same 12-month period. ⋯ Results suggest that opioid consumption and pain intensity trajectories mostly decrease after surgery in a high-risk population enrolled in a TPS. Results also show heterogeneity in postsurgical recovery and highlight the importance of using personalized interventions to optimize individual trajectories.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2024
Pain intensity and opioid consumption after temporary and permanent peripheral nerve stimulation: a 2-year multicenter analysis.
Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is an emerging neuromodulation modality, yet there remains limited data highlighting its long-term effectiveness. The objective of this study was to report real-world data on pain intensity and opioid consumption after temporary and permanent PNS for chronic pain up to 24 months postimplantation. ⋯ This study found that both temporary and permanent PNS may be effective for reducing pain intensity in patients with chronic pain up to 24 months postimplantation, although no changes in opioid consumption were observed. The decrease in pain intensity was comparable between patients receiving temporary versus permanent implants, highlighting that temporary PNS may achieve long-lasting clinical benefits. However, given the substantial loss to follow-up, further large-scale studies are needed to solidify conclusions about the efficacy of PNS.