Articles: pain-management.
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Anasthesiol Intensivmed Notfallmed Schmerzther · Sep 2021
[Pain Management in Hospitals - Current Practice, Quality and Organisation in Non-surgical Medical Care].
For many years now, effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment approaches for acute and chronic pain exist, as well as organisational strategies for their implementation in hospitals. Nevertheless, there remain considerable deficits in pain management and the portion of patients with severe or long-lasting pain in non-surgical units is often high. ⋯ This should not be seen as a signal that pain management is less important in non-surgical disciplines. On the contrary - it should raise awareness for more clinical and health services research to further develop and validate appropriate approaches and concepts to improve pain treatment in this field.
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Radicular low back pain is difficult to treat and commonly encountered in the Emergency Department (ED). Pain associated with acute radiculopathy results in limited ability to work, function, and enjoy life, and is associated with increased risk of chronic opioid therapy. In this case report, we describe the first ED-delivered ultrasound-guided caudal epidural steroid injection (ESI) used to treat medication-refractory lumbar radiculopathy, which resulted in immediate and sustained resolution of pain. ⋯ A 56-year old man with a past medical history of chronic lumbar radiculopathy presented to the ED with acute low back and right lower-extremity pain. Based on history and physical examination, a right L5 radiculopathy was suspected. His pain was poorly controlled despite multimodal analgesia, at which point he was offered admission or an ultrasound-guided caudal ESI. The procedure was performed using dexamethasone, preservative-free normal saline, and preservative-free 1% lidocaine solution, after which the patient reported 100% resolution of his pain and requested discharge from the ED. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? The safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided caudal ESIs have been established, but there is a paucity of literature exploring their application in the ED. We present a case of a refractory lumbar radiculopathy successfully treated with an ultrasound-guided caudal ESI. ED-performed epidurals can be one additional tool in the emergency physician arsenal to treat acute or chronic lumbar radiculopathy.