November Issue 2019 |Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR
DEDICATED SPACE Block rooms and block nurses help increase the overall effectiveness and efficiency of a continuous nerve block program.
The effects of single-shot nerve blocks and oral analgesics wear off soon after patients arrive home, leaving them in a significant amount of discomfort. Continuous nerve blocks (CNBs) and infusion pumps can extend your pain management efforts beyond your walls, keeping patients comfortable during the first few days of recovery.
Patients who take opioids to manage chronic pain disorders are ideal candidates for CNBs because the effects of opioids are blunted in these individuals, according to Roman Margulis, MD, an assistant site director at Montefiore Health’s Joint Replacement Center in the Bronx, N.Y. “CNBs also work well for patients with respiratory issues, and other worrisome comorbidities such as high BMIs and pulmonary issues — indications the patient won’t tolerate opioids well,” he says.