HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sabanathan, S. Articles by Mearns, A. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sabanathan, S. Articles by Mearns, A. J.

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 46, 425-426, Copyright © 1988 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

ARTICLES

Continuous intercostal nerve block for pain relief after thoracotomy

S Sabanathan, PJ Smith, GN Pradhan, H Hashimi, JB Eng and AJ Mearns
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Bradford Royal Infirmary, England.

Others have demonstrated the effectiveness of intercostal analgesia with bupivacaine hydrochloride (Marcain Plain; Astra). We present a greatly simplified method of effecting this. Our method is dependent on an intact pleura. To date, we have utilized this technique in 81 patients. Seventy-five (92.6%) required no additional analgesic in the first 24 hours following operation and 66 (81.5%), in the subsequent four days. Only 2 patients had postoperative pulmonary complications. No complication related either to the procedure or to the infusion of bupivacaine occurred. The technique as described here is a safe and reliable method of providing analgesia without any side effects after thoracotomy.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. D'Andrilli, M. Ibrahim, A. M. Ciccone, F. Venuta, T. De Giacomo, D. Massullo, G. Pinto, and E. A. Rendina Intrapleural intercostal nerve block associated with mini-thoracotomy improves pain control after major lung resection. Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg., May 1, 2006; 29(5): 790 - 794. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. C. Detterbeck Subpleural Catheter Placement for Pain Relief After Thoracoscopic Resection Ann. Thorac. Surg., April 1, 2006; 81(4): 1522 - 1523. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. G. Davies, P. S. Myles, and J. M. Graham A comparison of the analgesic efficacy and side-effects of paravertebral vs epidural blockade for thoracotomy--a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials Br. J. Anaesth., April 1, 2006; 96(4): 418 - 426. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. C. Detterbeck Efficacy of Methods of Intercostal Nerve Blockade for Pain Relief After Thoracotomy Ann. Thorac. Surg., October 1, 2005; 80(4): 1550 - 1559. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. D. Luketich, S. R. Land, E. A. Sullivan, M. Alvelo-Rivera, J. Ward, P. O. Buenaventura, R. J. Landreneau, L. A. Hart, and H. C. Fernando Thoracic Epidural Versus Intercostal Nerve Catheter Plus Patient-Controlled Analgesia: A Randomized Study Ann. Thorac. Surg., June 1, 2005; 79(6): 1845 - 1850. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. G. Soto and E. S. Fu Acute pain management for patients undergoing thoracotomy Ann. Thorac. Surg., April 1, 2003; 75(4): 1349 - 1357. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Takamori, S. Yoshida, A. Hayashi, T. Matsuo, M. Mitsuoka, and K. Shirouzu Intraoperative intercostal nerve blockade for postthoracotomy pain Ann. Thorac. Surg., August 1, 2002; 74(2): 338 - 341. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Vaughn Editorial III: Pain relief after thoracotomy Br. J. Anaesth., November 1, 2001; 87(5): 681 - 683. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Richardson and A. J. Mearns Extrapleural intercostal nerve block. Ann. Thorac. Surg., March 1, 2000; 69(3): 975 - 976. [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Gozal and B. Drenger The Pharmacology of New Drugs and New Uses for Older Drugs Used for Thoracic Pain Relief Seminars in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, September 1, 1999; 3(3): 144 - 155. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. S. Watson, S. Panian, V. Kendall, D. P. Maher, and G. Peters Pain control after thoracotomy: bupivacaine versus lidocaine in continuous extrapleural intercostal nerve blockade Ann. Thorac. Surg., March 1, 1999; 67(3): 825 - 828. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. M. Kaiser, A. Zollinger, D. De Lorenzi, F. Largiader, and W. Weder Prospective, randomized comparison of extrapleural versus epidural analgesia for postthoracotomy pain Ann. Thorac. Surg., August 1, 1998; 66(2): 367 - 372. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Sabanathan Continuous Intercostal Nerve Block for Pain Relief after Thoracotomy Ann. Thorac. Surg., May 1, 1995; 59(5): 1261 - 1263. [Full Text]