Cryoanalgesia for postsurgical pain relief in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cryoanalgesia as the Essential Element of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) in Children Undergoing Thoracic Surgery-Scoping Review

This article aims to present cryoanalgesia as an inventive strategy for pain alleviation among pediatric patients. It underlines the tremendous need to align pain management with the principles of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) approach. The aim of the study was to review the patient outcomes of nerve cryoanalgesia during surgery reported with regard to ERAS in the literature. The literature search was performed using PubMed and Embase to identify articles on the use of cryoanalgesia in children. It excluded editorials, reviews, meta-analyses, and non-English articles. The analysis focused on the study methods, data analysis, patient selection, and patient follow-up. This review includes a total of 25 articles. Three of the articles report the results of cryoanalgesia implemented in ERAS protocol in children. The research outcome indicates shortened hospital stay, potential reduction in opioid dosage, and significant progress in physical rehabilitation. This paper also describes the first intraoperative utilization of intercostal nerve cryoanalgesia during the Nuss procedure in Poland, highlighting its effectiveness in pain management. Adding the cryoanalgesia procedure to multimodal analgesia protocol may facilitate the implementation of the ERAS protocol in pediatric patients.

Cryoneurolysis of the Subcostal Nerve: A Technical Description and Case Report

Cryoneurolysis has been utilized for numerous persistent and intractable painful conditions, including phantom limb pain and postsurgical pain. Although there are reports on the effectiveness of cryoneurolysis in various regions, including the intercostal nerves, the subcostal nerve remains a common culprit of chronic pain for which the literature is scarce. Different modalities are commonly utilized to address subcostal neuropathic pain, such as non-opioid pharmacotherapy, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and anticonvulsants, site-specific regional anesthesia, and radiofrequency ablation.However, the analgesia provided by these modalities is often inadequate or short-lived. Cryoneurolysis of the subcostal nerve remains largely unexplored and may provide a promising solution.Here, we present the first technical description of ultrasound and fluoroscopic guided percutaneous cryoneurolysis of the subcostal nerve and the case of a patient with 14 years of lower thoracic rib pain who failed multiple interventions but achieved complete pain resolution at the three-month follow-up through this procedure.

Intercostal Nerve Cryoablation for Postoperative Pain Control in Pediatric Thoracic Surgery: A Scoping Review

Background: Cryoanalgesia uses the application of cold temperatures to temporarily disrupt peripheral sensory nerve function for pain control. This review outlines the principles of cryoablation, clinical applications, and clinical data for its use in pediatric thoracic surgery. Methods: A comprehensive PubMed search was performed using the principal terms and combinations of cryoablation, cryoanalgesia, Nuss, Nuss repair, pectus, pectus excavatum, thoracic surgery, thoracotomy, and chest wall. Pediatric articles were reviewed and included if relevant. Adult articles were reviewed for supporting information as needed. Reference lists of included articles were reviewed for possible additional sources. Discussion: The scientific and clinical principles of cryoablation are outlined, followed by a focused review of current clinical application and outcome data. Conclusion: Postoperative pain is a major challenge following thoracic surgery. Cryoanalgesia is emerging as an adjunct in pediatric thoracic surgery, particularly for the Nuss procedure or minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum. It effectively controls pain, decreasing postoperative opioid use and hospital length of stay with few short-term complications. Although more long-term studies are needed, early evidence suggests there is reliable return of sensation to the chest wall and long-term neuropathic pain is rare.

Cryoneurolysis for non-cancer knee pain: A scoping review

Background and objective

Cryoneurolysis involves percutaneous insertion of a cryoprobe induced to extremely cold temperatures to disrupt peripheral nerve conduction. The primary objective of this scoping review is to summarize and critically appraise the current evidence for the benefits and safety of cryoneurolysis for non-cancer knee pain. The secondary objective is to describe the variations in cryoneurolysis techniques used.

Methods

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched from their inception to February 2023 for any primary literature investigating the use of cryoneurolysis for non-cancer-related knee pain. Data was extracted for study characteristics, intervention characteristics, and clinical outcomes.

Results

Fourteen studies were identified, including three randomized controlled trials, four retrospective cohort studies, and seven case studies/series. Two studies included knee osteoarthritis patients, three studies included non-specific chronic knee pain patients; and nine studies included pre- or post-total knee arthroplasty patients. Ten studies targeted the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve while the remaining four studies did not report the nerve targeted. Studies consistently demonstrated improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and opioid consumption. Most adverse events were mild and self-limiting. Considerable variations in technique parameters were observed.

Conclusions

Cryoneurolysis is a promising intervention to improve outcomes in non-cancer knee pain populations, particularly in mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis and pre-total knee arthroplasty populations. However, cryoneurolysis for knee pain remains largely investigational as more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to further elucidate efficacy as well as optimal nerve selection and technique.

Ultrasound-controlled cryoneurolysis for peripheral mononeuropathies: a retrospective cohort study

Aim: Cryoneurolysis is a potential therapy for peripheral mononeuropathies, but randomized studies of its effects on the duration of pain reduction are lacking. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the analgesic effects of cryoneurolysis on patients with refractory peripheral mononeuropathy. We included 24 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided cryoneurolysis between June 2018 and July 2022. The daily maximum pain level was recorded using a numerical rating scale before and 1, 3 and 6 months after the procedure. Results: At 1 month, 54.2% of patients reported pain reduction of at least 30%. This percentage was significantly lower at 3 and 6 months (13.8 and 9.1%, respectively). Conclusion: Our results suggest that repeated cryoneurolysis may be a viable treatment for refractory mononeuropathy. Further investigations are needed.

Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Intercostal Cryoneurolysis for Acute-on-Chronic Pain in CLOVES Syndrome

Cryoneurolysis is an analgesic method that has been shown to provide extended pain relief in postoperative patients. However, to date, this method has not been described in nonsurgical inpatients with chronic pain experiencing an acute exacerbation. This analgesic modality has the potential to provide pain relief for patients whose expected duration of severe acute pain would outlast that of other regional anesthetic techniques while avoiding opioid escalation and facilitating discharge. We present a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic pain from breast ulcerations caused by congenital lipomatous overgrowth, vascular malformations, epidermal nevis, spinal/skeletal anomalies/scoliosis (CLOVES) syndrome that was successfully treated as an inpatient with a portable cryoneurolysis device.  This is the first reported use of cryoneurolysis in an inpatient setting to treat acute-on-chronic pain in a nonsurgical patient. The authors recommend regional anesthesiologists and acute pain specialists to utilize this technique to provide analgesia in patients with complex pain to facilitate hospital throughput.

Regional anesthesia for thoracic surgery: a narrative review of indications and clinical considerations

Background and Objective

Surgical procedures involving incisions of the chest wall regularly pose challenges for intra- and postoperative analgesia. For many decades, opioids have been widely administered to target both, acute and subsequent chronic incisional pain. Opioids are potent and highly addictive drugs that can provide sufficient pain relief, but simultaneously cause unwanted effects ranging from nausea, vomiting and constipation to respiratory depression, sedation and even death. Multimodal analgesia consists of the administration of two or more medications or analgesia techniques that act by different mechanisms for providing analgesia. Thus, multimodal analgesia aims to improve pain relief while reducing opioid requirements and opioid-related side effects. Regional anesthesia techniques are an important component of this approach.

Methods

For this narrative review, authors summarized currently used regional anesthesia techniques and performed an extensive literature search to summarize specific current evidence. For this, related articles from January 1985 to March 2022 were taken from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Terms such as "pectoral nerve blocks", "serratus plane block", "erector spinae plane block" belonging to blocks used in thoracic surgery were searched in different combinations.

Key Content and Findings

Potential advantages of regional anesthesia as part of multimodal analgesia regiments are reduced surgical stress response, improved analgesia, reduced opioid consumption, reduced risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and early mobilization. Potential disadvantages include the possibility of bleeding related to regional anesthesia procedure (particularly epidural hematoma), dural puncture with subsequent dural headache, systemic hypotension, urine retention, allergic reactions, local anesthetic toxicity, injuries to organs including pneumothorax, and a relatively high failure especially with continuous techniques.

Conclusions

This narrative review summarizes regional anesthetic techniques, specific indications, and clinical considerations for patients undergoing thoracic surgery, with evidence from studies performed. However, there is a need for more studies comparing new block methods with standard methods so that clinical applications can increase patient satisfaction.