J Korean Pain Soc.  1996 Nov;9(2):340-343.

Effect of Brachial Plexus Block and Stellate Ganglion Block on Skin Temperature of the Upper Extremity

• Sim KH
• Tae IS
• Rhyu JH
• Chun BD
• Lee HJ
• Lee SW

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In our hospital, stellate ganglion block (SGB) has been performed for the prevention and treatment of vasospasm after microscopic reimplantation of finger (s). If brachial plexus blcok (BPB) has the same effect of sympathetic block on the upper extremity as SGB, it may be preferable to the SGB because it povides postoperative analgesia and is administered continuously. So we measured and compared the change of skin temperature on the forearm as the parameter of sympathetic blockade after SGB and BPB.
METHODS
The forty-two patients, belonged to ASA class 1-2, were received BPB for hand surgery. The skin temperature was measured before and after BPB on the forearm with patient monitor (LN 6199, YSI 400 Series Temperature Probe, Hellige, Germany). After 24 hours, ipsilateral SGB was performed and skin temperature was recorded before and after SGB.
RESULTS
The increase of skin temperature after procedures was 1.1+/-0.5 degrees C (from 34.5+/-0.7 degrees C to 35.6+/-0.5 degrees C) in BPB and 0.6+/-0.3 degrees C (from 34.9+/-0.5 degrees C to 35.5+/-0.5 degrees C) in SGB. The changes of skin temperature in both blocks were statistically significant (p<0.01), and the skin temperatures after each procedure were revealed no significant difference (p=0.62).
CONCLUSION
We thought that BPB produced sympathetic blockade on the upper extremity as much as SGB. Moreover, it provides postoperative pain relief and may be employed as continuous method. So we suggest that continuous BPB could be used for hand surgery with many advantages.

Keyword

Brachial plexus block; Stellate ganglion block; Skin temperature

MeSH Terms

Analgesia
Brachial Plexus*
Fingers
Forearm
Hand
Humans
Pain, Postoperative
Replantation
Skin Temperature*
Skin*
Stellate Ganglion*
Upper Extremity*