End-on versus parallel radiofrequency lesioning for neurotomy of the cervical medial branch nerves: a study protocol of a prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial: the "EndPaRL" study.

BACKGROUND: Cervical facet joint disease is a common source of neck pain and its prevalence increases with aging. Conservative multimodal management options (e.g., strengthening of neck muscles, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, massage, and thermal modalities) often fail to relieve pain. Cervical medial branch nerve (CMBN) radiofrequency neurotomy (RFN) is an effective minimally invasive technique for treating chronic neck pain secondary to facet joint disease. An end-on approach for this procedure has been proposed that may be technically easier and require less time while reducing post-procedural discomfort. The protocol presented here is for a study that aims to compare the efficacy of a new end-on approach using multi-tined cannulae, against the conventional parallel technique that employs straight cannulae for RFN of the CMBN in patients with chronic neck pain due to cervical facet joint disease. METHODS: A multicentre randomized, non-inferior, active comparator-controlled trial will be conducted with two parallel groups and blinding of participants and outcome assessor. The study will include 72 adults with chronic neck pain secondary to facet joint disease who are candidates for RFA of the CMBN. Participants will be randomized to either the conventional parallel or the end-on approach in a 1:1 ratio. The intensity of pain and pain-related domains (function, quality of life, sleep, adverse effects of the interventions, analgesic intake) will be measured at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the procedure. DISCUSSION: Neck pain secondary to cervical facet joint disease is prevalent and RFA of the CMBN is a validated treatment for relieving it. The conventional parallel technique can be technically challenging, and it can be associated with adverse effects while the newer end-on approach has the potential of being a simpler technique with less adverse effects. This trial will be the first non-inferiority study to compare the clinical efficacy of the end-on approach against the conventional parallel approach for RFN of CMBN in patients with chronic neck pain due to cervical facet joint disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05818774. Registered on April 20, 2023.

Optimizing perioperative analgesia for the complex pain patient: medical and interventional strategies.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to review the literature and to highlight current practice regarding the management of the chronic pain patient presenting for surgery. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: It can be difficult to achieve adequate postoperative analgesia in patients who present for surgery with preexisting chronic pain. Such complex pain patients require a care plan that involves preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative considerations. Preoperatively, it is important to identify these patients' specific concerns, to address anxiety, to review expectations of care, and to consider premedication. Intraoperatively, it is important to consider local anesthetic regional anesthesia techniques and to supplement as necessary with pharmaceutical agents, e.g., ketamine, dexamethasone, ketorolac, and opioids. Postoperatively, it is important to continue multimodal analgesia techniques. It is vital to maintain a healthy therapeutic alliance with the patient and with allied health professionals. Nonspecific treatment effects can bolster efforts to achieve adequate analgesia. CONCLUSION: Successful management of the complex pain patient requires knowledge of the art and science of perioperative medicine.

Continuous infraclavicular brachial plexus blockade: effect on survival of replanted digits.

In replantation surgery, the use of continuous brachial plexus blockade (CBPB) is popular as it improves postoperative analgesia and vascular flow. The aim of our study was to determine whether CBPB may affect the odds of survivability of replanted digit(s). A four-year retrospective chart review was performed and various parameters affecting replant survival were examined. Outcome was recorded as successful if the transplanted digit(s) survived six months after discharge. All the independent variables were forced into a regression model without using a specific variable selection algorithm. The data for 146 patients was obtained from our chart review. The success rate of replanted digits in the patients reviewed was 65.8%. The logistic regression model showed a relation between the number of digits injured and replanted digit(s) survival. Our study showed that CBPB has no effect on the survivability of the replanted digit(s) till six months after hospital discharge.

Intake assessment of problematic use of medications in a chronic noncancer pain clinic.

BACKGROUND: The present article outlines the process of instituting an assessment of risk of problematic use of medications with new patients in an ambulatory chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) clinic. It is hoped that the authors' experience through this iterative process will fill the gap in the literature by setting an example of an application of the 'universal precautions' approach to chronic pain management. OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility and utility of the addition of a new risk assessment process and to provide a snapshot of the risk of problematic use of medications in new patients presenting to a tertiary ambulatory clinic treating CNCP. METHODS: Charts for the first three months following the institution of an intake assessment for risk of problematic medication use were reviewed. Health care providers at the Wasser Pain Management Centre (Toronto, Ontario) were interviewed to discuss the preliminary findings and provide feedback about barriers to completing the intake assessments, as well as to identify the items that were clinically relevant and useful to their practice. RESULTS: Data were analyzed and examined for completeness. While some measures were considered to be particularly helpful, other items were regarded as repetitive, problematic or time consuming. Feedback was then incorporated into revisions of the risk assessment tool. DISCUSSION: Overall, it is feasible and useful to assess risk for problematic use of medications in new patients presenting to CNCP clinics. CONCLUSION: To facilitate the practice of assessment, the risk assessment tool at intake must be concise, clinically relevant and feasible given practitioner time constraints.

Patient-controlled oral analgesia for postoperative pain management following total knee replacement.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether patient-controlled oral analgesia (PCOA) used by individuals receiving a total knee replacement could reduce pain, increase patient satisfaction, reduce opioid use and/or reduce opioid side effects when compared with traditional nurse (RN)-administered oral analgesia. METHODS: Patients who underwent an elective total knee replacement at a quaternary care centre (Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario) were randomly assigned to either PCOA or RN-administered short-acting oral opioids on postoperative day 2. Subjects in the RN group called the RN to receive their prescribed short-acting opioid. Subjects in the PCOA group kept a single dose of their prescribed oral opioid at their bedside and took this dose when they felt they needed it, to a maximum of one dose every 2 h. Study outcomes, collected on postoperative day 2, included pain (measured by the Brief Pain Inventory - Short Form), patient satisfaction (measured by the Pain Outcome Questionnaire Satisfaction subscale - component II), opioid use (oral morphine equivalents), opioid side effects (nausea, pruritus and/or constipation) and knee measures (maximum passive knee flexion and pain at maximum passive knee flexion, performed on the operative knee). RESULTS: Study outcomes were analyzed twice. First, for a subset of 73 subjects who remained in their randomly assigned group (PCOA group, n=36; RN group, n=37), randomized analyses were performed. Second, for the larger sample of 88 subjects who were categorized by their actual method of receiving oral opioids (PCOA group, n=41; RN group, n=47), as-treated analyses were performed. There were no differences in study outcomes between the PCOA and RN groups in either analysis. CONCLUSION: PCOA was not superior to RN administration on study outcomes. However, PCOA did not increase opioid use or pain. PCOA remains an important element in the patient-centred care facility.

Ultrasound-guided interventional procedures for patients with chronic pelvic pain - a description of techniques and review of literature.

Chronic pelvic pain can present in various pain syndromes. In particular, interventional procedure plays an important diagnostic and therapeutic role in 3 types of pelvic pain syndromes: pudendal neuralgia, piriformis syndrome, and "border nerve" syndrome (ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, and genitofemoral nerve neuropathy). The objective of this review is to discuss the ultrasound-guided approach of the interventional procedures commonly used for these 3 specific chronic pelvic pain syndromes. Piriformis syndrome is an uncommon cause of buttock and leg pain. Some treatment options include the injection of the piriformis muscle with local anesthetic and steroids or the injection of botulinum toxin. Various techniques for piriformis muscle injection have been described. CT scan and EMG-guidance are not widely available to interventional physicians, while fluoroscopy exposes the performers to radiation risk. Ultrasound allows direct visualization and real-time injection of the piriformis muscle. Chronic neuropathic pain arising from the lesion or dysfunction of the ilioinguinal nerve, iliohypograstric nerve, and genitofemoral nerve can be diagnosed and treated by injection to the invloved nerves. However, the existing techniques are confusing and contradictory. Ultrasonography allows visualization of the nerves or the structures important in the identification of the nerves and provides the opportunities for real-time injections. Pudendal neuralgia commonly presents as chronic debilitating pain in the penis, scrotum, labia, perineum, or anorectal region. A pudendal nerve block is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of pudendal neuralgia. The pudendal nerve is located between the sacrospinous and sacrotuberous ligaments at the level of ischial spine. Ultrasonography, but not the conventional fluoroscopy, allows visualization of the nerve and the surrounding landmark structures. Ultrasound-guided techniques offer many advantages over the conventional techniques. The ultrasound machine is portable and is more readily available to the pain specialist. It prevents patients and healthcare professionals from the exposure to radiation during the procedure. Because it allows the visualization of a wide variety of tissues, it potentially improves the accuracy of the needle placement, as exemplified by various interventional procedures in the pelvic regions aforementioned.

Review article: perioperative pain management of patients on methadone therapy.

PURPOSE: Methadone, an opioid traditionally associated with the management of opioid addictive disorders, has been prescribed increasingly as an analgesic for the management of various chronic pain conditions. Despite the increasing popularity of methadone, most anesthesiologists are not familiar with its complex pharmacology. The purpose of this article is to review the pharmacology of methadone and to suggest a management algorithm for the perioperative care of methadone patients. SOURCE: A Medline search was performed to obtain the published literature on the pharmacology of methadone and its use perioperatively. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The complexity of methadone's pharmacology is characterized by a high inter-individual variability, a potential for interaction with other medications, and a long elimination half-life. The postoperative management of methadone patients may be difficult as they are often 'opioid-tolerant' but may be 'pain-intolerant'. For those patients who are taking part in methadone-maintenance programs, there is a potential for the problematic use of opioids or other substances. The management plan for patients taking methadone may differ depending on the type of surgery and the associated perioperative differences in fasting status and gastrointestinal function. In consideration of all the factors listed above, a management algorithm is outlined for the perioperative care of methadone patients. CONCLUSION: Methadone is an opioid with complex properties, and a patient that is taking methadone can represent a unique challenge to the anesthesiologist. A good understanding of the pharmacology of methadone and of the type of patients on this medication will help to improve their perioperative care.

Postoperative sudden sensorineural hearing loss after posterior lumbar decompression: a case report.

PURPOSE: We report a case in which a patient sustained a dural tear during spinal surgery under general anesthesia complicated by a severe and persistent unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 51-yr-old man with no previous otological history underwent a posterior lumbar decompression surgery in the prone position under general anesthesia. A small dural tear was discovered intra-operatively and was repaired by sutures. Surgery lasted for eight hours with over 3 L of blood loss. Recovery from anesthesia was otherwise uneventful. A unilateral right-sided sensorineural hearing loss was discovered shortly after completion of surgery. This was associated with mild tinnitus but no vertigo. There was no aural fullness, pain, headache or postural element to his symptoms. Despite extensive investigations, treatment and follow-up by an otorhinolaryngologist, his symptoms failed to improve 18 months following surgery. DISCUSSION: The possible etiologies, preventive strategies, prognosis and management plan of this rare complication are discussed.

The control of severe cancer pain by continuous intrathecal infusion and patient controlled intrathecal analgesia with morphine, bupivacaine and clonidine.

The management of severe cancer pain may be problematic in spite of recent advances in pain management. A small percentage of patients with severe intractable pain and/or intractable side effects may require more aggressive interventional pain management strategies including the administration of medications continuously by the intrathecal route. A variety of medications, including morphine, bupivacaine, and clonidine, may be used intrathecally for the control of cancer pain. Optimal use of these medications requires individual titration to the patient's needs. We describe a case of severe cancer pain where these medications were used successfully by continuous intrathecal infusion and patient controlled intrathecal analgesia.