Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2017
Observational StudyPreserved Analgesia With Reduction in Opioids Through the Use of an Acute Pain Protocol in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for Open Hepatectomy.
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways are designed to restore baseline physiology, mitigate surgical stressors, and hasten recovery. Paramount to this approach is optimal pain control through multimodal analgesia and limiting reliance on opioid-based medications. Recent studies have fostered growing controversy surrounding the use of epidural analgesia in the ERAS setting, especially for higher-risk procedures. We examine the analgesic end points associated with the use of epidural within the ERAS framework for open hepatectomy. ⋯ A novel ERAS protocol for open hepatectomy successfully reduced reliance on perioperative opioids without expensing adequate analgesia compared with traditional care. Patients within ERAS benefitted from application of epidural, which further reduced opioid requirements and optimized pain control without increasing complication rates. Epidurals should remain an integral part of ERAS protocols for liver resection surgery.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2017
ReviewIntegration of Mobile Health Technology in the Treatment of Chronic Pain: A Critical Review.
This article provides a critical overview and best-evidence synthesis of the use of mobile health (mHealth) technology among persons with chronic pain and their health care providers and examines the future benefits and barriers of implementing mHealth technology in clinical care. We critically review articles about electronic pain diaries, pain assessment programs, text messaging, and smartphone pain apps for management of persons with pain. ⋯ Finally, barriers, study gaps, and future challenges of incorporating mobile technology for chronic pain are discussed. Although the future of mHealth technology and telemedicine in clinical practice is promising, this critical review highlights the need for rigorous studies to establish an association of the use of mHealth technology with improved quality of life, functional autonomy, and decreased hospital use.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialUse of a Dental Vibration Tool to Reduce Pain From Digital Blocks: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The infiltration of local anesthetic is consistently described as painful by patients. Vibration anesthesia has been studied in the dental literature as a promising tool to alleviate the pain from dental nerve blocks. Many of these studies used a specific device, the DentalVibe. To date, there have not been any studies applying this technology to digital blocks of the hand in human subjects. We hypothesized that the use of microvibratory stimulation during digital blocks of the hand would decrease pain reported by patients. ⋯ Our results show a statistically significant difference in mean injection pain score during digital block of the hand when the DentalVibe device is used for vibration anesthesia. Larger studies are warranted to confirm our findings.