• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.254-257
• /
• 1997

Ganglion impar lies immediately anterior to the sacrococcygeal junction and blockade of the ganglion is used to treat anorectal and perineal pain. Although the technique introduced by Plancarte et at is widely practised, the bent needle is sometimes difficult to position precisely and patients find the procedure painful. We modified this approach of block of ganglion impar by positioning the needle into the sacrococcygeal junction and using the loss of resistance technique. With the patient in the lateral position, a skin wheal was raised at 1-1.5cm below the sacral hiatus. Twenty-three gauge short needle was directly placed into the sacrococcygeal junction with aid of fluoroscopic guidance. From 1 cm behind the anterior margin of the vertebral body in lateral view, we used the loss of resistance technique to confirm the retroperitoneal space. We found this modified approach easier to perform during six blocks for three patients with anorectal or perineal pain. Our modified approach through the sacrococcygeal junction may provide opportunity for wider administration of this procedure because of its simple technique, reduced pain during procedure and decreased risk of infection.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.74-78
• /
• 2000

Background: Epidural Adhesiolysis is an interventional pain management technique for patients with low back pain. In addition to local anesthetics and corticosteroid, hypertonic saline (NaCl) are used for the technique. Present study was aimed to compare analgesic and adverse effects of two different concentration of hypertonic saline in Epidural Adhesiolysis. Methods: Fifty-three subjects with low back pain with radiculopathy were assigned to one of two epidural adhesiolysis treatment groups: 8% (Group I, n=26) or 10% (Group II, n=27) hypertonic saline. 17 G epidural needle was inserted at sacral hiatus and catheter was advanced untill its tip was located at lesion site under fluoroscopic guidance. Subjects in all treatment groups received epidural corticosteroid and local anesthetic. And then, hypertonic saline injection via catheter were carried out daily for 3 days. Evaluation included assessment of pain relief (Numerical Rating Scale; NRS) at post-epidural adhesiolysis 1, 2, 3 days, 1 week, and 1, 3 months. We also looked for complications of epidural adhesiolysis at different concentration of hypertonic saline. Results: Statistical analysis demonstrated that NRS was not significantly different between two groups during 3 months after epidural adhesiolysis. There were no major differences of complications between two groups and disappeard after a few months without residual sequelae. Conclusions: We conclude that epidural adhesiolysis using 8% hypertonic saline is effective for relief of low back pain with proven lumbosacral fibrosis without any residual sequelae compared with 10%.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.57-62
• /
• 1989

Clonidine, ${\alpha}2$-adrenergic agonist, applied spinally or epidurally has been shown to be effective in blocking noxious stimuli in human applications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the analgesic effect of epidurally administered clonidine. In 40 patients undergoing hemorrhoidectomy or anal fistulectomy, 1.33% lidocaine 15ml (Group I) or 1.33% lidocaine mixed with $75{\mu}g$ clonidine(Group II) administered epidurally through sacral hiatus. Intraoperative changes of vital signs and duration of postoperative analgesic effects were observed. The results were as follows : 1) In the group I, average analgesic duration was 2.42 hours. 2) In the group II, average analgesic duration was 7.32 hours. 3) After epidural clonidine injection, the decrease in heart rate and blood pressure was not significant without sedation. 4) Postoperatively, any complaints related clonidine were not reported. In conclusion, postoperative pain control with epidural clonidine was effective.

• The Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Ultrasound Society
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.105-112
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Ultrasound-guided epidural caudal block for low back pain and radiating pain is often performed in the treatment of outpatients. However, this procedure has a failure rate of up to 25% even when it performed by an experienced physician. The authors investigate the effectiveness of Ultrasound-guided epidural caudal block in patients related to disc herniation or spinal stenosis. Materials and Methods: Ultrasound-guided caudal epidural block was performed in 55 outpatients with LBP and radiating pain. Patient was placed in the prone position and sonographic image of sacral hiatus was obtained using linear probe. A 22-gauge needle was advanced into the sacrococcygeal membrane under ultrasound guidance and then medication was injected into the caudal epidural space. There were 31 cases of disc herniation, and 24 cases of spinal stenosis. Patients were evaluated by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 2 weeks and 4 weeks by telephone interviews. Results: 53 of the 55 cases (96.4%) of needle insertion into the sacral canal under ultrasound guidance were successful. Gender was not significantly different between disc herniation group and spinal stenosis group. But there was a significant age difference between disc herniation group ($42.3{\pm}10.8$), and spinal stenosis group ($62.8{\pm}15.1$) [p<0.001]. The VAS score at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 2 weeks, 4 weeks in disc group were 6.84, 3.1, 1.8 & 1.77. The VAS score at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 2 weeks, 4 weeks in spinal stenosis group were 6.88, 3.58, 4.33 & 4.88. The VAS score in both groups was significantly improved after the procedure (p<0.001). Over time, the two groups were statistically significant differences in VAS score after adjusting for age (p<0.001). Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided caudal epidural block seems to provide a high success rate and a significantly better response in disc group than spinal stenosis group.