Abstract

ARCILA-LOTERO, Mario Andrés  and  MEJIA-AGUILAR, Maria Adelaida. Efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided interventional management in chronic pain patients: Cohort follow-up. Rev. colomb. anestesiol. [online]. 2015, vol.43, n.4, pp.263-268. ISSN 0120-3347.

Introduction: Chronic pain is a highly prevalent condition and its treatment includes multiple measures, including ultrasound-guided analgesic blocks. There are no reports available including different types of blocks in chronic pain patients. Objective: To determine the clinical efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided interventional management in chronic pain patients that consulted at Instituto Colombiano del Dolor in 2011. Materials and methods. Descriptive follow-up trial of a cohort of 149 chronic pain patients undergoing ultrasound-guided interventional therapy at Instituto Colombiano del Dolor in Medellín city, from May through December 2011. Data were collected prior to the procedure, at day two and then one month later. Pain intensity was measured with the visual analog scale. Results: 149 patients were analyzed. The most common block was the supra-scapular nerve. The efficacy of the block was 79.2% and 38.9% after two days and one month, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between the intensity of the initial pain and pain at follow-up. The incidence of complications was low. There were no differences in the outcomes between the patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and those who had not been receiving any prior pharmacological therapy. Conclusions. Ultrasound-guided interventional pain management is an effective and safe technique.

Keywords : Chronic pain; Ultrasonography; Peripheral nerves; Nerve block; Pain.

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