Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Publications
find publications by category +
Translate page:

Safety and Patient Acceptability of Stellate Ganglion Blockade as a Treatment Adjunct for Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Quality Assurance Initiative.

Authors:
Brian McLean

Cureus 2015 Sep 10;7(9):e320. Epub 2015 Sep 10.

Tripler Army Medical Center.

Objective:  To perform a quality assurance and performance improvement project through review of our single center data on the safety and patient acceptability of the stellate ganglion blockade (SGB) procedure for the relief of symptoms related to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background:  Our interventional pain management service has been offering trials of SGB therapy to assist with the management of the sympathetically mediated anxiety and hyperarousal symptoms of severe and treatment-refractory combat-related PTSD. There have been multiple case series in the literature describing the potential impact of this procedure for PTSD symptom management as well as the safety of image-guided procedures. We wished to ensure that we were performing this procedure safely and that patients were tolerating and accepting of this adjunctive treatment option.

Methods:  We conducted a review of our quality assurance and performance improvement data over the past 18 months during which we performed 250 stellate ganglion blocks for the management of PTSD symptoms to detect any potential complications or unanticipated side effects.  We also analyzed responses from an anonymous patient de-identified survey collected regarding the comfort and satisfaction associated with the procedure.

Results:  We did not identify any immediate post-procedural complications or delayed complications from any of the 250 procedures performed from November 2013 to April 2015. Of the 110 surveys that were returned and tabulated, 100% of the patients surveyed were overall satisfied with our process and with the procedure, 100% said they would recommend the procedure to a friend, and 95% stated that they would be willing to undergo as many repeat procedures as necessary based on little discomfort and tolerable side effects.

Conclusion:  Our quality assurance assessment suggests that in our center the SGB procedure for PTSD is a safe, well-tolerated, and acceptable treatment adjunct in the management of severe symptoms associated with chronic treatment-refractory PTSD. Patient satisfaction responses are strongly suggestive of high therapeutic value, and further studies are indicated to determine the effectiveness, duration of action, and optimal treatment regimen.

Download full-text PDF

 Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.320DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601906PMC
September 2015

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

quality assurance
12
stellate ganglion
12
post-traumatic stress
8
assurance performance
8
performance improvement
8
safety patient
8
ganglion blockade
8
procedure ptsd
8
sgb procedure
8
acceptability stellate
8
patient acceptability
8
procedure
6
november 2013
4
returned tabulated
4
ptsd symptom
4
surveys returned
4
symptom management as
4
110 surveys
4
management as well
4
2015 of 110
4

Keyword Occurance

Similar Publications

COVID-19 and vaccination: myths vs science.

Authors:
Vivek P Chavda Yangmin Chen Jayant Dave Zhe-Sheng Chen Subhash C Chauhan Murali M Yallapu Vladimir N Uversky Rajashri Bezbaruah Sandip Patel Vasso Apostolopoulos

Expert Rev Vaccines 2022 Aug 18. Epub 2022 Aug 18.

Institute for Health and Sport, Immunology and Translational Research Group, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, 3030, Australia.

Introduction: Several vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been developed since the inception of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019, at unprecedented speed. However, these rapidly developed vaccines raised many questions related to the efficacy and safety of vaccines in different communities across the globe. Various hypotheses regarding COVID-19 and its vaccines were generated, and many of them have also been answered with scientific evidence. Read More

View Article and Full-Text PDF
August 2022
Similar Publications

A DNA metabarcoding workflow to identify species in spices and herbs.

Authors:
Geoffrey Cottenet Christophe Cavin Carine Blancpain Poh Fong Chuah Roberta Pellesi Michele Suman Sofia Nogueira Mario Gadanho

J AOAC Int 2022 Aug 18. Epub 2022 Aug 18.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Wade Road, Basingstoke, UK.

Background: Spices and herbs are food categories regularly cited as highly susceptible to be adulterated. To detect potential adulteration with undeclared species, DNA-based methods are considered as the most suitable tools.

Objective: In this study, the performance of the ready-to-use Thermo Scientific™ NGS Food Authenticity Workflow (Thermo Fisher Scientific) - a commercial DNA metabarcoding approach - is described. Read More

View Article and Full-Text PDF
August 2022
Similar Publications

Consistency in the transabdominal ultrasound measurement of cervical length in mid-pregnancy.

Authors:
Michelle K Pedretti Elizabeth A Nathan Dorota A Doherty Jan E Dickinson

Australas J Ultrasound Med 2022 Aug 3;25(3):127-136. Epub 2022 Jun 3.

Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences The University of Western Australia M550, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley Western Australia 6008 Australia.

Purpose: The Western Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative recommends a transabdominal cervical length (TACL) measurement at the mid-pregnancy ultrasound to screen low-risk women for preterm birth risk. In view of this recommendation, we assessed the inter-observer consistency of TACL screening in mid-pregnancy.

Methods: Routinely collected mid-pregnancy TACL ultrasound images were graded from 0 to 4 according to the anatomical landmarks identified by a single expert. Read More

View Article and Full-Text PDF
August 2022
Similar Publications

Utilization of a Risk Stratification Tool and Volume-Based Cuff Leak Test to Assess Post-Extubation Stridor.

Authors:
Richard H Kallet Aya Matsushima Susan Yoo Michael S Lipnick

Respir Care 2022 Aug 17. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care University of California, San Francisco at San Francisco General Hospital.

Background: Post-extubation stridor (PES) is an imminently life-threatening event. Maximizing patient safety requires a systematic approach to screen patients for PES risk factors and a standardized test to evaluate that risk. This retrospective study of adult subjects was based on quality assurance data including standardized surveillance screening criteria and a volume-based cuff leak test (CLT) to evaluate PES risk among predominantly surgical-trauma and neurotrauma subjects. Read More

View Article and Full-Text PDF
August 2022
Similar Publications

Trends in Dialysis Industry Consolidation After Medicare Payment Reform, 2006-2016.

Authors:
Caroline E Sloan Abby Hoffman Matthew L Maciejewski Cynthia J Coffman Justin G Trogdon Virginia Wang

JAMA Health Forum 2021 Nov 5;2(11):e213626. Epub 2021 Nov 5.

Department of Medicine, Duke University Health System, Durham, North Carolina.

Importance: The dialysis industry is highly concentrated, with large dialysis organizations now providing dialysis for more than 85% of patients with kidney failure in the United States. In 2011, Medicare introduced a new Prospective Payment System (PPS) for end-stage kidney disease, which bundled payment for dialysis care into 1 payment per patient. Trends in dialysis facility consolidation after the PPS went into effect are unknown. Read More

View Article and Full-Text PDF
November 2021
Similar Publications
}