Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2017
ReviewPerioperative Breast Analgesia: A Qualitative Review of Anatomy and Regional Techniques.
Breast surgery is exceedingly common and may result in significant acute as well as chronic pain. Numerous options exist for the control of perioperative breast pain, including several newly described regional anesthesia techniques, but anesthesiologists have an insufficient understanding of the anatomy of the breast, the anatomic structures disrupted by the various breast surgeries, and the theoretical and experimental evidence supporting the use of the various analgesic options. In this article, we review the anatomy of the breast, common breast surgeries and their potential anatomic sources of pain, and analgesic techniques for managing perioperative pain. We performed a systematic review of the evidence for these analgesic techniques, including intercostal block, epidural administration, paravertebral block, brachial plexus block, and novel peripheral nerve blocks.
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2017
Perioperative Patient Beliefs Regarding Potential Effectiveness of Marijuana (Cannabinoids) for Treatment of Pain: A Prospective Population Survey.
Cannabinoids have an expanding presence in medicine. Perioperative patients' perceptions of the effectiveness of these compounds, and acceptance if prescribed for pain, have not been previously described. Our primary objective was to describe patients' beliefs regarding the potential effectiveness of cannabinoids for the treatment of acute and chronic pain, as well as gauge patient acceptance of these compounds if prescribed by a physician. In addition, demographic and pain history data were collected to elucidate the predictors of the aforementioned patient attitudes. Secondarily, we sought to characterize the subgroup of patients who reported marijuana use. Predictors of marijuana use, effectiveness, and adverse effects were also reported for this subgroup. ⋯ Patients generally believe that marijuana could be at least somewhat effective for the management of pain and are willing to use cannabinoid compounds for this indication, if prescribed by a physician.
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2017
Comparative StudyMeasurement Error of a Simplified Protocol for Quantitative Sensory Tests in Chronic Pain Patients.
Large-scale application of Quantitative Sensory Tests (QST) is impaired by lacking standardized testing protocols. One unclear methodological aspect is the number of records needed to minimize measurement error. Traditionally, measurements are repeated 3 to 5 times, and their mean value is considered. When transferring QST to a clinical setting, reducing the number of records would be desirable to meet the time constraints encountered in a routine clinical environment and to reduce the testing burden to chronic pain patients. However, there might be a trade-off between measurement error and number of records. We determined the measurement error of a single versus the mean of 3 records of pressure pain detection threshold (PPDT), electrical pain detection threshold (EPDT), and nociceptive withdrawal reflex threshold (NWRT) in 429 chronic pain patients recruited in a routine clinical setting. ⋯ This study contributes to a standardized QST protocol, and based on the minimal measurement error of 1 single record of PPDT, EPDT, and NWRT, we submit to reduce the testing burden. This would allow saving time, resources, and patient discomfort.
-
Despite its popularity, ultrasound (US)-guided regional anesthesiology is associated with significant limitations. The latter can be attributed to either the US machine (ie, decreased ability to insonate deep neural structures, as well as the thoracic spine) or the operator. Shortcomings associated with the operator can be explained by errors in perception (ie, ambiguous criteria for needle/catheter tip-to-nerve proximity and subparaneural local anesthetic injection) or interpretation. ⋯ For continuous nerve blocks, combined US-neurostimulation may provide an objective end point (ie, an evoked motor response) for neural proximity and subparaneural positioning of the catheter tip. Finally, the solution to the plethora of nonvalidated US-guided blocks is both elegant and simple. New nerve blocks should answer a specific clinical need, and their first descriptions should take the form of an adequately powered, observer-blinded, randomized comparison against the established standard of care or, at the very least, a large case series (eg, a Brief Technical Report).
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2017
Case ReportsNeuralgic Amyotrophy Attributed Incorrectly to Block-Related Injury: Understanding Errors in Clinical Reasoning.
We report a case of misdiagnosed neuralgic amyotrophy (brachial plexus neuritis, Parsonage-Turner syndrome). Our primary objective is to review the scientific basis for errors in clinical reasoning. ⋯ Cognitive bias may lead to errors in clinical reasoning and consequent misdiagnosis. Temporal proximity may falsely implicate regional anesthesia as the causative agent.