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O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
results, according to Canadian researchers writing in the May
2014 issue of the journal Headache (
tinyurl.com/oa4ofpk
).
For the study, the researchers observed the cases of 28 patients
with an average age of 14.6 years who received their first blocks,
on average, 70 days after injury. Ninety-three percent saw good
outcomes, with 71% seeing rapid and complete relief.
"The ease with which peripheral nerve blocks of the scalp can
be performed," they write, "combined with the immediate relief
experienced by patients, makes them a potential addition to the
armamentarium of headache management strategies for children
and adolescent with post-traumatic headaches."
4. Save a case from cancellation
Occasionally your discussions with pre-op patients will uncover
other aches and pains, unrelated to the surgery at hand, that
they're feeling. Sometimes they can be quite substantial, but
sometimes a well-placed nerve block can save the day.
Mike MacKinnon, MSN, CRNA, an independent practice nurse
anesthetist from Show Low, Ariz., remembers a patient who was
in agony before a hand surgery. "As she laid on the stretcher, she
complained of weird pains radiating up her abdomen, a flare-up
from a past spinal injury. Just to touch the skin would make her
come off the bed," he says. "That's all she could think about. She'd
actually considered cancelling the surgery."
That was one possibility, letting the patient go home and
rescheduling the necessary surgery, hoping that there wouldn't
be another flare-up next time. In the meantime, Mr. MacKinnon
notes, she'd have to live with the inconvenience and the anxiety
that her condition caused. Alternatively, she could go ahead
with the surgery, suffering through the pain and through recov-
R E G I O N A L A N E S T H E S I A
