Successful emergency pain control for acute pancreatitis with ultrasound guided erector spinae plane blocks

Pain control for patients in the Emergency Department (ED) with acute pancreatitis (AP) can be difficult and is often limited to intravenous opioids. The acute side effects from opioids are well known and their use in the treatment of AP is associated with prolonged length of hospitalization. Additionally, up to 10% of patients hospitalized for acute pancreatitis are still receiving opioids 6 months after discharge. Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia by emergency physicians has increasingly proven to be an integral part of a multi-modal opioid sparing pain control strategy for patients in the ED.
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research