Study Finds IV Steroids for Nerve Blocks Associated With Decreased Need for Pain Medication

Newswise — Nerve blocks using local anesthetics, or numbing medicines similar to Novocain, are routinely performed by anesthesiologists to provide pain relief for patients undergoing surgery. Although techniques exist to provide several days of pain relief, they usually require special skills plus additional time and resources, and aren’t always possible. Therefore, additional additives are commonly mixed with the local anesthetic or given intravenously (IV) to make a single injection nerve block last as long as possible.

One such additive is the steroid dexamethasone. Although several previous studies have suggested that it may make a nerve block last longer when given via IV, these studies relied on subjective endpoints (e.g., when the patient thought the nerve block wore off or when they first asked for pain medication) to determine how long the nerve block lasted.

A study conducted by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center differed in that it used an objective measurement (pin-prick assessment every 2-hours). The investigators found that IV dexamethasone did not prolong the numbing shot. However, a higher dose of IV dexamethasone decreased the amount of pain medication a patient needed and extended the time before the first pain medicine was requested.

James Turner, an anesthesiologist at Wake Forest University, will present his abstract "Systemic Dexamethasone and Peripheral Nerve Blocks: What We Thought We Knew" (Abstract 3391) on April 7th at the 42nd Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting in San Francisco. He has also prepared a short video summarizing his work. ASRA's annual spring meeting will be held April 6-8 at the Marriott Marquis. The meeting attracted a record number of abstract submissions this year and promises to break previous attendance records as well.

ASRA is the largest subspecialty anesthesia association in the United States with more than 4,000 members. The mission of the society is to advance the science and practice of regional anesthesia and pain medicine. The vision of the society is to be the leader in regional anesthesia and chronic pain medicine through innovations in education and research.