Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2016
Comparative Study Observational StudyThe Role of Spectral Tissue Sensing During Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Injection.
Spectral tissue sensing (STS) exploits the scattering and absorption of light by tissue. The main objective of the present study was to determine whether STS can discriminate between correct and incorrect placement of the needle tip during lumbar transforaminal epidural injection. This was a single-blind prospective observational study in 30 patients with lumbar radicular pain scheduled for lumbar transforaminal epidural injection. ⋯ Spectral tissue sensing data contained the full spectra. The lipid and hemoglobin content at the different measurement points was also calculated, and partial least-squares discriminant analysis was used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of STS. Spectral tissue sensing identified correct needle placement with a sensitivity of 57% and a specificity of 82%, and intraforaminal versus extraforaminal locations were identified with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 71%.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2016
Observational StudyNeurologic Outcomes After Low-Volume, Ultrasound-Guided Interscalene Block and Ambulatory Shoulder Surgery.
Postoperative neurologic symptoms after interscalene block and shoulder surgery have been reported to be relatively frequent. Reports of such symptoms after ultrasound-guided block have been variable. We evaluated 300 patients for neurologic symptoms after low-volume, ultrasound-guided interscalene block and arthroscopic shoulder surgery. ⋯ Ultrasound guidance of interscalene block with 16- to 20-mL volumes of local anesthetic solution results in a lower frequency of postoperative neurologic symptoms at 10 and 30 days as compared with investigations in the preultrasound period.
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Celiac plexus blockade has known risks including bleeding and neurologic injury because of the close proximity of vascular and neuraxial structures. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of bleeding complications in patients undergoing celiac plexus block (CPB), with an emphasis on preprocedural antiplatelet medication use and coagulation status. ⋯ This study suggests that CPBs may be safely performed in patients receiving aspirin and/or NSAID therapy.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2016
Observational StudyAdverse Drug Effects and Preoperative Medication Factors Related to Perioperative Low-Dose Ketamine Infusions.
High-dose opioid administration is associated with significant adverse events. Evidence suggests that low-dose ketamine infusions improve perioperative analgesia over conventional opioid management, but usage is highly variable. ⋯ The purposes of this study were 3-fold: (1) to identify patient factors associated with initiation of ketamine infusions during spine surgery, (2) to identify specific spine procedures in which ketamine has been used most frequently, and (3) to identify ADEs associated with postoperative ketamine infusions and which ADEs most frequently led to discontinuation. Spine surgery was chosen because of its association with moderate to severe pain and a relatively high use of ketamine infusions in this population at our hospital.