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Supraclavicular continuous peripheral nerve block in a wounded soldier: when ultrasound is the only option.

Plunkett AR, Brown DS, Rogers JM, Buckenmaier CC

Army Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management Initiative, Anesthesia and Operative Service Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Building 2, Ward 44, Room 4418, Washington, DC 20307-5001, USA. anthony.plunkett@na.amedd.army.mil

The complex nature of combat-related injuries requires frequent operative interventions and prolonged analgesic therapy. The application of continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) has been an important anaesthetic tool in the management of combat soldiers wounded from the current conflicts. The severe, destructive nature of combat injuries makes placement of CPNB difficult or impossible using more common neurostimulation approaches. The use of ultrasound technology has improved our success in placing CPNB in the presence of such injuries. We report the application of ultrasound technology in placing CPNB in a combat-injured soldier, whose injuries precluded other CPNB options.

Published 11 October 2006 in Br J Anaesth, 97(5): 715-7.
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