CONTEXT

Splanchnic nerve block (SPN) with local anesthetic and steroid is used to relieve the pain of chronic pancreatitis. However, it does not provide long-lasting relief. We hypothesize that the use of 70% alcohol will give adequate analgesia for more than months.

AIMS

The primary objective was to find out the analgesic efficacy of the use of 70% alcohol with SPN. Secondary objectives included the incidence of side effects, analgesic consumption postintervention, quality of life (QOL) assessed via a self-reported quality of life scale, and repeat block during the 1-year follow-up period.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of all patients with chronic pancreatitis who received bilateral SPN over the last 4 years.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

SPN was performed using the posterior retrocrural approach with the patient in the prone position as described in the literature using a 23 G × 90 mm spinal needle bilaterally at the level of T12 using C-arm/fluoroscopy guidance. Data were collected from the procedure book of the pain clinic and medical records.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Quantitative data for change in pre- to post-block VAS score was collected using the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed ranks test.

RESULTS

The baseline VAS, post-procedure VAS, and VAS at 3 months follow-up was 7.69 ± 1.3,2.44 ± 0.96 and 1.56 ± 1.15. A pairwise comparison of VAS performed between baseline and immediate post-procedure, baseline, and VAS at 3 months was found to be highly significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Fluoroscopy-guided neurolytic SPN with 70% alcohol gives significant pain relief for more than 3 months. It also leads to improvement in 3 months QOL.