(ChemotherapyAdvisor) – A marked decrease in visual analog score and in opioid consumption was observed with the use of continuous celiac plexus block, a study in 12 patients reported during the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine has found.
The patients primarily had pancreatic cancer and had failed conservative measures. Use of continuous celiac plexus block guided by computed tomography resulted in preprocedural mean visual analog score values dropping from 8.7 to 1.8 at the first post-procedural visit; mean morphine use dropped from 155mg/day to 0mg/day during the same period.
“These results persisted during the 6-month follow-up period or until death,” the investigators noted. Moderate diarrhea was observed in three patients and mild hypotension in four. One patient had a transient paraparesis, and no procedure-related mortality was observed.
