A new study involving primarily veterans supports injecting a local anesthetic into the necks of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder to relieve symptoms, according to a news release.
Performing a stellate ganglion block has shown to calm the irritability, flashbacks, insomnia and depression associated with PTSD. In an article scheduled for publication in a Feb. 2012 edition of Military Medicine, study authors show the injections can be beneficial.
In the study, all patients benefited and six of eight patients reported significant symptom relief. Current standard PTSD treatment hover around 30 percent success rate, and compliance rate after one year is 40 percent. With the new injection, success rate was 25 percent and compliance rate after one year was 100 percent.
As a result of the study, key lawmakers are being debriefed on the treatment, which could lead to broader treatment for PTSD. The study was led by Eugene G. Lipov, MD, a Chicago-based anesthesiologist and pain management specialist, and co-authored by Eric T. Stedje-Larsen, an anesthesiologist and pain management physician deployed as Officer in Charge of Fleet Surgical Team FIVE aboard the USS Makin Island.
Related Articles on Pain Management:
Dr. James Gruft: Healthcare Reform Could Revolutionize Chronic Pain Patient Care
North Shore-LIJ Medical Center Opens Pain Management Center
Stanford, UCSF to Test Ultrasound for Relieving Cancer Pain
In the study, all patients benefited and six of eight patients reported significant symptom relief. Current standard PTSD treatment hover around 30 percent success rate, and compliance rate after one year is 40 percent. With the new injection, success rate was 25 percent and compliance rate after one year was 100 percent.
As a result of the study, key lawmakers are being debriefed on the treatment, which could lead to broader treatment for PTSD. The study was led by Eugene G. Lipov, MD, a Chicago-based anesthesiologist and pain management specialist, and co-authored by Eric T. Stedje-Larsen, an anesthesiologist and pain management physician deployed as Officer in Charge of Fleet Surgical Team FIVE aboard the USS Makin Island.
Related Articles on Pain Management:
Dr. James Gruft: Healthcare Reform Could Revolutionize Chronic Pain Patient Care
North Shore-LIJ Medical Center Opens Pain Management Center
Stanford, UCSF to Test Ultrasound for Relieving Cancer Pain