Context: Despite recent advances in the understanding of the chronic pain concept, its diagnosis and management remains a daily challenge for clinicians and patients. Based on the published literature, this review discusses and tries to organize the current knowledge and the up-to-date clinical experience about the efficacy and safety of the use of intravenous lidocaine in treatment and prevention of chronic pain. Evidence Acquisition: To prepare this narrative review, we performed an in depth literature review using the PubMed searching engine. We extracted all relevant articles published in English, up to April 2016. Results: Lidocaine, administered as transdermal patch or intravenous lidocaine, is a safe and effective modality in the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), complex regional pain syndrome, as well and for prevention of chronic pain. It may be effective in the management of neuropathic pain syndromes, chronic pain, post-operative pain, and refractory cancer pain. Conclusions: Intravenous lidocaine and lidocaine patch are effective and safe for the treatment of several chronic or neuropathic pain syndromes. The use of lidocaine during surgery could prevent the development of some chronic post-surgical pain syndromes.
Introduction: Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks have enhanced our abilities to selectively and effectively suppress certain nerves to accomplish specific goals, including blockade a localized seizure muscle movement without affecting the seizure threshold or level of the consciousness. Case Presentation: This is a case report of the blockade of the movement of a chewing muscle by the continuous (catheter-based) mandibular nerve block in a 27 years old man with high-frequency partial seizures in facial muscles who was a candidate for seizure focus ablation. An out-of-plane approach was used to insert a catheter near the mandibular nerve to provide intermittent or continuous peripheral nerve block. This report demonstrated that a continuous block of the mandibular nerve could effectively facilitate the seizure focus mapping and ablation. Conclusions: We can selectively suppress the contractures of a certain muscle in partial seizures by a continuous block of the responsible nerve. This blockade can facilitate seizure focus mapping and ablation.
The personal and societal impact of chronic low back pain is considerable. The intervertebral disc is considered the etiologic source in up to 40% of patients, with considerable previous efforts directed at developing reliable and efficacious treatments. Recent publications, including a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, using a one-time treatment of methylene blue, showed statistically significant, clinically relevant improvements in pain and function in the treatment groups. The postulated mechanism of action of methylene blue is denervation of small nociceptive fibers that grow into the annulus fibrosis, which are implicated in discogenic pain.Retrospective case series.Academic pain management center.To examine the outcomes for a cohort of patients treated with methylene blue for discogenic pain, discuss potential differences in selection and administration protocols and briefly review other proposed treatments for discogenic pain (e.g. intradiscal electrothermy therapy, intradiscal steroids, intradiscal biaccuplasty, rami communicans radiofrequency thermocoagulation, and chymopapain).This case series examines the pain and functional outcomes in 8 patients treated with a one-time administration of methylene blue for discogenic back pain. Follow-up information was available between 2 months and over one year, depending on the patient.Application of this treatment for these 8 patients for discogenic pain diagnosed by provocation discography showed only one clinical success at our center. Four patients had a time-limited clinical response in pain and/or function between 2 weeks and 5 months. Patient specific data are outlined in detail herein.Low back pain ascribed to a discogenic source continues to be an elusive clinical entity to treat. We have reserved further treatment of methylene blue for discogenic pain until other controlled trials have been published.A case series.
Abstract: A subcostal transversus abdominis plane ( TAP ) phenol injection was performed on a patient with refractory cancer pain due a metastatic involvement of the abdominal wall. A diagnostic block with local anesthetic was performed under ultrasound guidance ( USG ), resulting in a decrease of 80% and 100% in dynamic and static visual analog scale ( VAS ) for pain, respectively, for 20 hours. A phenol injection was then performed under USG . The patient reported 70% and 100% reduction in the dynamic and static VAS for pain and had a 50% decrease in the opioid requirement that was maintained for 2 months. TAP blocks offer an interesting tool for either diagnosis or therapeutic purpose in chronic pain management. USG provides an optimal approach to soft‐tissue lesions where fluoroscopy techniques are not useful.
