title: Urgent Ultrasound-Guided Bilateral Stellate Ganglion Blocks in a Patient With Medically Refractory Ventricular Arrhythmias.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the successful treatment of medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias in the ICU with ultrasound-guided bilateral stellate ganglion blocks.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were gathered from the medical record.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were extracted from the medical record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. 2Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. 3Department of Cardiovascular Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Maura M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Scanlon
authors.forename: Shane M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.forename: Hartzell V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Schaff
authors.forename: Yong-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Erica D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Wittwer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000601:surgery*; D001340:Autonomic Nerve Block / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D013233:Stellate Ganglion; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods*