Recent Technological Advancements in Regional Anesthesia

Publication date: Available online 25 July 2019Source: Best Practice & Research Clinical AnaesthesiologyAuthor(s): Sudipta Sen, Michelle Ge, Amit Prabhakar, Vanessa Moll, Rachel J. Kaye, Elyse M. Cornett, O.Morgan Hall, Ira.W. Padnos, Richard D. Urman, Alan David KayeAbstractJust two decades ago, regional anesthesia was performed blindly with dubious outcomes and little support from surgeons and patients. Technological advances in regional anesthesia have revolutionized techniques and greatly improved outcomes. Ultrasound technology continues to advance and has become more affordable. Improvements have come in the form of picture quality, resolution, portability, and smaller equipment size. Ultrasound technology can identify otherwise unrecognized pathology and can help to optimize patient flow by allowing for more accurate triage, effective treatments, and provide timelier interventions. In recent years, several different strategies to help improve and ease ultrasound guided needle identification and placement have been developed, including magnetically guided needle ultrasound technology. Three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound use is another potential way to help improve first pass success and limit patient harm for regional anesthetics. The advent of echogenic needles and the resulting improvement in needle visualization under ultrasound has had a positive impact on physician comfort in performing regional anesthesia and on visualization time of the ne...
Source: Best Practice and Research Clinical Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research