Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2023
Comparison of the feasibility and safety of infrazygomatic and suprazygomatic approaches to pterygopalatine fossa using virtual reality.
Injections of local anesthetics into pterygopalatine fossa gained popularity for treating acute and chronic facial pain and headaches. Injury of maxillary artery during pterygopalatine fossa injection can result in pseudoaneurysm formation or acute bleeding. We aimed to identify the optimal approach into pterygopalatine fossa by comparing feasibility and safety of suprazygomatic and two infrazygomatic approaches. ⋯ The suprazygomatic approach proved to be the safest, however not always feasible. The posterior infrazygomatic approach was always feasible and predominantly safe if the needle entry point was just anterior to the condylar process. The anterior infrazygomatic approach was always feasible, however least safe even with an optimal needle entry point just anterior to the coronoid process.
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Inappropriate citation of retracted literature is a common problem in the general medical literature. In 2020, more than 2300 articles were retracted, a dramatic increase from 38 in 2000. By exploring a contemporary series of retractions by one research group, we aimed to evaluate if citations of retracted articles is occurring in the area of regional anesthesiology. ⋯ In this contemporary example from the regional anesthesia literature, we identified that citation of retracted work remains a common phenomenon.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2023
Comparative effectiveness of anesthetic technique on outcomes after lumbar spine surgery: a retrospective propensity score-matched analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, 2009-2019.
The impact of anesthetic technique on spine surgery outcomes is controversial. Using a large national sample of patients, we compared outcomes after lumbar decompression under regional anesthesia (RA: spinal or epidural) or general anesthesia (GA). ⋯ Compared with GA, RA was associated with fewer complications, less blood transfusion and shorter LOS after spine surgery. Although statistically significant, the magnitude of effects was small and requires further prospective study.