Urgent Ultrasound-Guided Bilateral Stellate Ganglion Blocks in a Patient With Medically Refractory Ventricular Arrhythmias.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the successful treatment of medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias in the ICU with ultrasound-guided bilateral stellate ganglion blocks.

DATA SOURCES

The data were gathered from the medical record.

STUDY SELECTION

This case was selected as it describes the use of ultrasound in the successful termination of a recurrent, malignant arrhythmia, rather than fluoroscopy, to perform bilateral stellate ganglion blocks at the patient's bedside in the ICU.

DATA EXTRACTION

The data were extracted from the medical record.

DATA SYNTHESIS

The data were synthesized from the patient's medical record.

CONCLUSIONS

Performance of stellate ganglion blocks at the bedside in the ICU is feasible for patients who are suffering from refractory ventricular arrhythmias. This potentially life-saving block can be performed using ultrasound guidance, sparing the patient transport to a fluoroscopy suite.