Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2016
Are Cure Rates for Breast Cancer Improved by Local and Regional Anesthesia?
Recent preclinical basic science studies suggest that patient tumor immunity is altered by general anesthesia (GA), potentially worsening cancer outcomes. A single retrospective review concluded that breast cancer patients receiving paravertebral block and GA had better cancer outcomes compared with patients receiving GA alone. This study has not been validated. We hypothesized that local or regional anesthesia (LRA) would be associated with better cancer outcomes compared with GA. ⋯ Breast cancer OS, DFS, and LRR were not affected by type of anesthesia in our institution. This result differs from that of the only prior published clinical report on this topic and does not provide clinical corroboration of the basic science studies that suggest oncologic benefits to LRA.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2016
Primary Failure of Thoracic Epidural Analgesia in Training Centers: The Invisible Elephant?
In teaching centers, primary failure of thoracic epidural analgesia can be due to multiple etiologies. In addition to the difficult anatomy of the thoracic spine, the conventional end point-loss-of-resistance-lacks specificity. Furthermore, insufficient training compounds the problem: learning curves are nonexistent, pedagogical requirements are often inadequate, supervisors may be inexperienced, and exposure during residency is decreasing. ⋯ The problem of decreasing caseload can be tackled with epidural simulators to supplement in vivo learning. From a technical standpoint, fluoroscopy and ultrasonography could be used to navigate the complex anatomy of the thoracic spine. Finally, correct identification of the thoracic epidural space should be confirmed with objective, real-time modalities such as neurostimulation and waveform analysis.