Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2015
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyMedial Branch Blocks or Intra-Articular Injections as a Prognostic Tool Before Lumbar Facet Radiofrequency Denervation: A Multicenter, Case-Control Study.
Medial branch blocks (MBBs) and intra-articular (IA) facet joint injections are both used to diagnose facet joint pain and are presumed to be equivalent. No study has sought to determine which has a better prognostic value before radiofrequency (RF) denervation. ⋯ When used as a prognostic tool before lumbar facet radiofrequency, MBB may be associated with a higher success rate than IA injections. Our results should be confirmed by large, prospective, randomized studies.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2015
Multicenter StudyDevelopment and Validation of an Assessment of Regional Anesthesia Ultrasound Interpretation Skills.
Interpretation of ultrasound images and knowledge of anatomy are essential skills for ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks. Competency-based educational models promoted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education require the development of assessment tools for the achievement of different competency milestones to demonstrate the longitudinal development of skills that occur during training. ⋯ This study provides evidence for the reliability, content validity, and construct validity of a 47-item multiple choice-style online test of ultrasound interpretation skills for regional anesthesia, which can be used as an assessment of competency milestone achievement in anesthesiology training.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2015
Multicenter StudyDiabetes: A Risk Factor for Catheter-Associated Infections.
The incidence of infectious complications associated with continuous regional anesthesia techniques is a matter of concern. Our objective was to determine whether patients suffering from diabetes are at an increased risk of catheter-related infectious complications. ⋯ The presence of diabetes is associated with an increased risk for catheter-related infections in lower limb and lumbar epidural. Specific care should be taken to avoid and detect infections in this population.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudySufentanil Sublingual Tablet System for the Management of Postoperative Pain Following Open Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.
This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of a sufentanil sublingual tablet system (SSTS) for the management of postoperative pain following open abdominal surgery. ⋯ These results suggest that SSTS is effective and safe for the management of postoperative pain in patients following open abdominal surgery.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2014
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyUsing an International Clinical Registry of Regional Anesthesia to Identify Targets for Quality Improvement.
Despite the widespread use of regional anesthesia, limited information on clinical performance exists. Institutions, therefore, have little knowledge of how they are performing in regard to both safety and effectiveness. In this study, we demonstrate how a medical institution (or physician/physician group) may use data from a multicenter clinical registry of regional anesthesia to inform quality improvement strategies. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale effort to use a clinical registry to provide comparative outcome rates representing the safety and effectiveness of regional anesthesia. These results can be used to help inform quality improvement strategies.