5 6
S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
14 ccs/hr. If they're experiencing breakthrough pain, I'll tell them to run it at 12
or 14 ccs for an hour. The effect is basically the same as that of a bolus.
It's normal for patients with pain
pumps to feel a little light-headed from time to time.
a
. true
b
. false
Answer:
b
Light-headedness can be an indication of local anesthetic toxicity, possibly
because the medicine is being delivered to a vein. We tell patients to call us
right away if they start feeling light-headed or confused. Other indications that
the medicine is hitting a vein include ringing in the ears, numbness in the
tongue or a bad taste in the mouth. But we have never had a toxicity issue
after placing over 7,500 continuous catheters.
In some cases, pain pumps have been found to help
patients who've experienced reflex sympathetic dystro-
phy (RSD), also known as complex regional pain syndrome.
a
. true
b
. false
Answer:
a
Using a block and catheter on patients who've experienced what can be a very
painful condition after surgery often helps prevent it from occurring again
after a second surgery. In fact, pain doctors often send their RSD patients to
me. We've had success putting a continuous catheter in for up to 2 weeks to
help calm down the nerves and ease the pain.
P A I N P U M P S A F E T Y
