Regional anesthesia
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Postdural puncture headache can recur following an epidural blood patch but usually does so within the first week. However, a late recurrence was encountered in a 31-year-old woman with probable lupus vasculitis. ⋯ A review of risk factors for postdural puncture headache and the role of an epidural blood patch suggests a possible explanation for the late recurrence in this case.
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Regional anesthesia · Jul 1997
Case ReportsBilateral fascia iliaca catheters for postoperative pain control after bilateral total knee arthroplasty: a case report and description of a catheter technique.
The pain following total knee arthroplasty can be associated with significant morbidity, especially in the elderly. Regional anesthetic techniques attenuate or eliminate postoperative pain, which may reduce this morbidity. ⋯ Lumbar plexus blockade with continuous local anesthetic infusion via the fascia iliaca compartment is an effective means of providing postoperative analgesia after total knee arthroplasty when epidural analgesia is contraindicated.
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Regional anesthesia · Jul 1997
Distribution of local anesthetic solution in retromediastinal block. Preliminary experimental results.
Interpleural anesthesia blocks pain perception from the thoracoabdominal wall without impairment of leg function. Bilateral interpleural anesthesia is not recommended because of possible bilateral impairment of respiratory function. Infiltration of the retromediastinum with local anesthetic might cause bilateral thoracoabdominal somatic block and block of sympathetic afferents from the abdominal cavity without impairing respiration. ⋯ Block of pain perception from the abdominal wall and cavity is possible by injection of local anesthetic into the retromediastinum via a catheter introduced through the esophageal diaphragm hiatus. The block would not be expected to impair respiratory or leg function. Its efficacy and safety have yet to be established.
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Regional anesthesia · May 1997
Letter Historical ArticleThe evolution of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia needles.
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Regional anesthesia · May 1997
Clinical TrialSingle-injection lumbar epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia in children: a report of 175 cases.
Since the first report of epidural opioid administration to pediatric patients, several studies have described the quality of analgesia, doses, pharmacokinetics, and side effects of this procedure. A pediatric series using an easy and cheap single-injection technique of epidural morphine administration for postoperative analgesia is presented. ⋯ This technique is easy to perform, even for trainees in anesthesiology. With appropriate patient selection and avoidance of the concomitant use of narcotics and sedatives, epidural morphine provides prompt, effective, safe, and prolonged analgesia in children.