Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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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
Can an inflammatory reaction in the meninges, caused by spinal puncture through tattooed skin, evolve into adhesive arachnoiditis? An experimental model in rabbits.
As the number of people with tattoos has been increasing, anesthesiologists are more and more faced with the decision to perform a neuraxial blockage through tattooed skin. In this study, we evaluated the possibility of puncture through tattooed skin determines acute inflammatory changes in the meninges and spinal cord and later evolve into adhesive arachnoiditis. ⋯ Spinal puncture through tattooed skin of rabbits can trigger acute inflammatory changes in the meninges and after a prolonged period of observation evolve into adhesive arachnoiditis.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Systemic dexmedetomidine is not as efficient as perineural dexmedetomidine in prolonging an ulnar nerve block.
We tested the joint hypotheses that both perineural and systemic dexmedetomidine prolong the duration of an ulnar nerve block (UNB) compared with ropivacaine alone and that systemic dexmedetomidine is noninferior compared with perineural dexmedetomidine in block prolongation. ⋯ Adding dexmedetomidine perineurally to ropivacaine doubles the duration of an UNB. Systemic dexmedetomidine also prolongs the duration of UNB, but has less of an effect compared with the perineural route.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Face and construct validity of TU-Delft epidural simulator and the value of real-time visualization.
Learning epidural anesthesia traditionally involves bedside teaching. Visualization aids or a simulator can help in acquiring motor skills, increasing patient safety and steepening the learning curve. We evaluated the face and construct validity of the TU-Delft Epidural Simulator and the effect of needle visualization. ⋯ The TU-Delft Epidural Simulator is a useful tool for teaching motor skills during epidural needle placement. Prior use of a visualization tool improves performance even without visual support during consequent simulations.