Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialParavertebral somatic nerve block compared with peripheral nerve blocks for outpatient inguinal herniorrhaphy.
Inguinal herniorrhaphy (IH) is a common outpatient procedure, yet postoperative pain and anesthetic side effects remain a problem. Paravertebral somatic nerve blocks (PVB) have the potential to offer unilateral abdominal wall anesthesia and long-lasting pain relief with minimal side effects. We compared PVB with peripheral neural blocks for outpatient IH. ⋯ This study shows that PVB provides analgesia equivalent to extensive peripheral nerve block for inguinal herniorrhaphy, offering an alternative method of postoperative pain management and perhaps fewer side effects.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialGabapentin in postamputation phantom limb pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study.
Severe phantom limb pain after surgical amputation affects 50% to 67% of patients and is difficult to treat. Gabapentin is effective in several syndromes of neuropathic pain. Therefore, we evaluated its analgesic efficacy in phantom limb pain. ⋯ After 6 weeks, gabapentin monotherapy was better than placebo in relieving postamputation phantom limb pain. There were no significant differences in mood, sleep interference, or activities of daily living, but a type II error cannot be excluded for these variables.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
"See one, do one, teach one, have one": a novel variation on regional anesthesia training.
Is it possible to determine the number of nerve blocks needed for residents to become competent in regional anesthesia? Several studies have focused on this question, and the Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Anesthesiology has now defined a "minimum clinical experience" for some aspects of regional anesthesia training. In our experience, personally being a regional block recipient can also serve to enhance training. ⋯ The lessons learned from personally receiving a regional anesthetic are invaluable and can improve the quality of training, as well as the relationship between anesthesiologist and patient.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Comment Letter Historical Article"Santayana's prophecy fulfilled" requires a critique.