title: Successful treatment of Raynaud's syndrome in a lupus patient with continuous bilateral popliteal sciatic nerve blocks: a case report.
abstract: Raynaud's syndrome has been treated medically and invasively, sometimes with regional anesthesia leading up to sympathectomy. We demonstrate that regional anesthesia was in this case a useful technique that can allow some patients to find temporary but significant relief from symptoms of Raynaud's syndrome exacerbation. We present a 43-year-old woman with Raynaud's syndrome secondary to lupus who was treated with bilateral popliteal nerve block catheters for ischemic pain and necrosis of her feet; this led to almost immediate resolution of her pain and return of color and function of her feet. While medical management should continue to be a front-line treatment for Raynaud's syndrome, regional anesthesia can be useful in providing rapid dissipation of symptoms and may thus serve as a viable option for short-term management of this syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Thuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dao
authors.affiliation: McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amaro-Driedger
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jaideep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mehta
keywords: Peripheral nerve block; ischemic pain; lupus; regional anesthesia