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Peripheral Nerve Blocks

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Essentials of Interventional Cancer Pain Management

Abstract

Peripheral nerve blocks are useful interventions in managing malignant pain, including in patients with disease that is not yet end stage. Given the multifactorial nature of malignant pain (somatic, visceral, neuropathic, or mixed), peripheral nerve blocks can be both diagnostic and therapeutic. This chapter discusses the pharmacology of agents commonly used in these interventions: local anesthetics, steroids, phenol, and alcohol. It addresses commonly used peripheral nerve blocks in terms of the related anatomy, indications for treatment, evidence supporting outcomes, technique, and potential complications.

In this section, we will discuss methods used to target peripheral and cranial nerves in addition to nerve plexuses known as common pain generators.

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Zinboonyahgoon, N., Abrecht, C.R., Narang, S. (2019). Peripheral Nerve Blocks. In: Gulati, A., Puttanniah, V., Bruel, B., Rosenberg, W., Hung, J. (eds) Essentials of Interventional Cancer Pain Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99684-4_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99684-4_18

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