Current Opinion in Anesthesiology最新文献

Purpose of review: Pain after craniotomy is often severe and undertreated. Providing adequate analgesia while avoiding medication adverse effects and physiological complications of pain remains a perioperative challenge.

Recent findings: Multimodal pain management includes regional anesthesia and analgesic adjuncts. Strategies aim to reduce or eliminate opioids and the associated side effects. Many individual pharmacologic interventions have been studied with beneficial effects on acute pain following craniotomy. Evidence has been accumulating in support of scalp blockade, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), dexmedetomidine, paracetamol, and gabapentinoids. The strongest evidence supports scalp block in reducing postcraniotomy pain and opioid requirements.

Summary: Improving analgesia following craniotomy continues to be a challenge that should be managed with multimodal medications and regional techniques. Additional studies are needed to identify the most effective regimen, balancing efficacy and adverse drug effects.

Purpose of review: Consequences of the expanding commercial spaceflight industry include an increase in total number of spaceflight participants and an accompanying surge in the average number of medical comorbidities compared with government-based astronaut corps. A sequela of these developments is an anticipated rise in acute and chronic pain concerns associated with spaceflight. This review will summarize diagnostic and therapeutic areas of interest that can support the comfort of humans in spaceflight.

Recent findings: Painful conditions that occur in space may be due to exposure to numerous stressors such as acceleration and vibration during launch, trauma associated with extravehicular activities, and morbidity resulting directly from weightlessness. Without normal gravitational forces and biomechanical stress, the hostile environment of space causes muscle atrophy, bone demineralization, joint stiffness, and spinal disc dysfunction, resulting in a myriad of pain generators. Repeated insults from abnormal environmental exposures are thought to contribute to the development of painful musculoskeletal and neuropathic conditions.

Summary: As humanity invests in Lunar and Martian exploration, understanding the painful conditions that will impede crew productivity and mission outcomes is critical. Preexisting pain and new-onset acute or chronic pain resulting from spaceflight will require countermeasures and treatments to mitigate long-term health effects.

Purpose of review: The anesthetic management of patients with Moyamoya disease (MMD) is challenging and continues to evolve. The goal of this review is to provide updated recommendations on the anesthetic management of adult MMD patients based on the relevant existing literature.

Recent findings: Key findings include the importance of aggressive hydration preoperatively to sustain cerebral perfusion. Hypertension induced intraoperatively may prevent cerebral hypoperfusion. Vigilance against cerebral hyperperfusion after revascularization is necessary, with specific blood pressure targets recommended. Fluid management should aim for normovolemia to mild hypervolemia. Maintaining body temperature helps prevent cerebral vasospasm induced by hypothermia. Maintaining adequate oxygen supply during surgery is crucial. In cases of ischemic stroke, managing hematocrit and oxygen carrying capacity is essential to prevent further ischemia. Extubation decisions should consider baseline neurological function, while postoperative normocapnia helps prevent cerebral hyperperfusion and hypertension. In intensive care, cautious blood pressure management is crucial to prevent secondary complications.

Summary: Strategies in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative anesthetic management of MMD patients should aim to maintain adequate cerebral perfusion to prevent cerebral ischemia.

Purpose of review: Kratom is used commonly in the United States, usually to mitigate pain, opioid withdrawal, or fatigue. A comprehensive discussion on kratom, tailored to pain management physicians, is needed, given its associated risks and potential interactions.

Recent findings: Kratom and its main metabolites, mitragynine and 7-OH-mitragynine, bind to a variety of receptors including mu opioid receptors. Still, kratom cannot be described as a classic opioid. Kratom has been utilized without FDA approval as an alternative to traditional medications for opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal. Lower doses of kratom typically cause opioid-like effects while higher doses can have sedating effects. Tolerance, dependence and withdrawal still occur, although kratom withdrawal appears to be more moderate than opioid withdrawal. Contamination with heavy metals and biological toxins is concerning and there is potential for serious complications, including seizures and death.

Summary: The use of kratom as an opioid-sparing alternative as a part of a multimodal pain regimen is not without significant risks. It is of utmost importance for pain physicians to be aware of the risks and adverse effects associated with kratom use.

Purpose of review: This paper is an update of the publications on Transitional Pain Services and explores the viability of a dedicated transitional pain service for women.

Recent findings: We address common pain pathologies establishing referral criteria, pathways, and effective strategies to decrease chronification of pain during pregnancy.

Summary: This review highlights the importance establishing transitional pain service models at every institution and in particular in obstetric population as pain is normalized by Society during pregnancy.

Purpose of review: Neuromodulation approaches have been a part of a revolution in migraine therapies with multiple devices approved or in development. These devices vary in the nerve(s) being targeted, implantable versus noninvasive form factors as well as their effectiveness for acute pain reduction or migraine prevention. This review will summarize these recent advancements and approaches that are being developed which build upon prior work and improved technology that may help enhance the effectiveness as well as the patient experience.

Recent findings: Both noninvasive and implantable devices primarily targeting cranial nerves have shown the ability to help alleviate migraine symptoms. Multiple prospective and retrospective studies have demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions in headache intensity with noninvasive approaches, while prevention of migraine demonstrates more modest effects. Implantable neuromodulation technologies focusing on occipital and supraorbital stimulation have shown promise in migraine/headache prevention in chronic migraine patients, but there is a need for improvements in technology to address key needs for surgical approaches.

Summary: Electrical neuromodulation approaches in the treatment of migraine is undergoing a transformation towards improved outcomes with better technologies that may suit various patient needs on a more individualized basis.

Purpose of review: This review examines recent research on artificial intelligence focusing on machine learning (ML) models for predicting postoperative pain outcomes. We also identify technical, ethical, and practical hurdles that demand continued investigation and research.

Recent findings: Current ML models leverage diverse datasets, algorithmic techniques, and validation methods to identify predictive biomarkers, risk factors, and phenotypic signatures associated with increased acute and chronic postoperative pain and persistent opioid use. ML models demonstrate satisfactory performance to predict pain outcomes and their prognostic trajectories, identify modifiable risk factors and at-risk patients who benefit from targeted pain management strategies, and show promise in pain prevention applications. However, further evidence is needed to evaluate the reliability, generalizability, effectiveness, and safety of ML-driven approaches before their integration into perioperative pain management practices.

Summary: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to enhance perioperative pain management by providing more accurate predictive models and personalized interventions. By leveraging ML algorithms, clinicians can better identify at-risk patients and tailor treatment strategies accordingly. However, successful implementation needs to address challenges in data quality, algorithmic complexity, and ethical and practical considerations. Future research should focus on validating AI-driven interventions in clinical practice and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to advance perioperative care.

Purpose of review: To provide an evidence-informed review weighing the pros and cons of particulate vs. nonparticulate steroids for lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESI).

Recent findings: The relative use of nonparticulate vs. particulate steroids for lumbar TFESI has risen recently in light of catastrophic consequences reported for the latter during cervical TFESI. Among various causes of spinal cord infarct, an exceedingly rare event in the lower lumbar spine, embolization of particulate steroid is among the least likely. Case reports have documented cases of spinal cord infarct during lower lumbar TFESI with both particulate and nonparticulate steroids, with database reviews finding no difference in complication rates. There is some evidence for superiority of particulate over nonparticulate steroids in well-designed studies, which could lead to increase steroid exposure (i.e. more injections) and treatment failure resulting in surgical and/or opioid management when nonparticulate steroids are utilized.

Summary: Similar to a paradigm shift in medicine, a personalized approach based on a shared decision model and the consequences of treatment failure, should be utilized in deciding which steroid to utilize. Alternatives to ESI include high-volume injections with nonsteroid solutions, and the use of hypertonic saline, which possesses anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to be superior to isotonic saline in preliminary clinical studies.

Purpose of review: Heart and lung transplantation evolution marked significant milestones. Pioneering efforts of Dr Christiaan Barnard with the first successful heart transplant in 1967, followed by advancements in heart-lung and single-lung transplants by Drs Bruce Reitz, Norman Shumway, and Joel Cooper laid the groundwork for contemporary organ transplantation, offering hope for patients with end-stage heart and pulmonary diseases.

Recent findings: Pretransplant opioid use in heart transplant recipients is linked to higher mortality and opioid dependence posttransplant. Effective pain control is crucial to reduce opioid-related adverse effects and enhance recovery. However, research on specific pain management protocols for heart transplant recipients is limited. In lung transplantation effective pain management is crucial. Studies emphasize the benefits of multimodal strategies, including thoracic epidural analgesia and thoracic paravertebral blocks, to enhance recovery and reduce opioid use. Perioperative pain control challenges in lung transplantation are unique and necessitate careful consideration to prevent complications and improve outcomes.

Summary: This review emphasizes the importance of tailored pain management in heart and lung transplant recipients. It advocates for extended follow-up and alternative analgesics to minimize opioid dependency and enhance quality of life. Further high-quality research is needed to optimize postoperative analgesia and improve patient outcomes.

Purpose of review: This article aims to empower the interventional pain physician to utilize RFA effectively by explaining the technical and electrophysiological features of monopolar, bipolar, and internally cooled RFA. Scientific data are used to provide advice on the effective, well tolerated, and rational application of these techniques. Moreover, physicians need to know how to analyze and generalize ex-vivo and in-vivo models to the clinical setting to optimize clinical outcomes.

Recent findings: Recent studies suggest that there are many ways to enhance the technical effectiveness of interventional pain medicine RFA through adjustments in the equipment selection and settings and the local tissue conditions specific to the targeted anatomical area. These modifications could assist in improving clinical and safety outcomes.

Summary: To optimize both the efficacy and safety of RFA, physicians must understand, conceptualize, interpret, and clinically translate the basic science of RFA. This knowledge is crucial for optimizing equipment selection and settings based on target location to enhance clinical outcomes and limit technical failures.