Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
A prospective, observational study of the relationship between body mass index and depth of the epidural space during lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injection.
Previous studies have concluded that transforaminal epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are more effective than interlaminar injections in the treatment of radiculopathies due to lumbar intervertebral disk herniation. There are no published studies examining the depth of epidural space using a transforaminal approach. We investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the depth of the epidural space during lumbar transforaminal ESIs. ⋯ There is a positive association between BMI and transforaminal epidural depth, but not with age, sex, race, oblique angle, or intervertebral level.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
A web-based cross-sectional epidemiological survey of complex regional pain syndrome.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a poorly understood pain disorder with little information on the natural course of the disease. Changes in its diagnostic criteria have simplified the identification of this syndrome, but convincing epidemiological data regarding this disorder are still lacking. Here, we collected epidemiological and other relevant information regarding CRPS via a Web-based survey to develop a better understanding of the epidemiology, symptoms, progression, therapy, and associated psychosocial factors related to CRPS. ⋯ Complex regional pain syndrome is a severe disabling pain disorder that results in physical as well as emotional and financial consequences to patients. The disease complexity requires coordination of multidisciplinary care that can be achieved by educational efforts directed to general practitioners.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
Clinical TrialExcretion of ropivacaine in breast milk during patient-controlled epidural analgesia after cesarean delivery.
Few studies have been published concerning the excretion of bupivacaine and lidocaine into the breast milk and none concerning ropivacaine. ⋯ The milk-plasma concentration ratio of ropivacaine was found to be lower than that reported for other local anesthetics It seems that PCEA with ropivacaine/fentanyl after cesarean delivery is not associated with excessive milk-plasma concentrations of ropivacaine.