title: Case Report of Serratus Plane Catheter for Pain Management in a Patient With Multiple Rib Fractures and an Inferior Scapular Fracture.
abstract: We placed a superficial serratus anterior plane catheter in an elderly woman with dementia and elevated clotting times who presented with multiple rib fractures after a mechanical fall. She was not a surgical candidate, and treatment consisted of conservative management with physical therapy and pain control. She was not a candidate for a patient-controlled analgesia regimen because of her dementia. Given her elevated international normalized ratio, thoracic epidural and paravertebral analgesia was also contraindicated. We placed an ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane catheter, allowing titratable continuous infusion in a trauma patient, resulting in excellent analgesia without adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; †Department of Anesthesiology, Divisions of Pain Medicine and Critical Care, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York; and ‡Staff Anesthesiologist at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, California; Clinical Instructor in Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Weyker
authors.forename: Christopher A J
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000577:Amides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000072700:Conservative Treatment; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D000069076:Fractures, Multiple / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000379:methods*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D012253:Rib Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D000077212:Ropivacaine; D012540:Scapula / Q000293:injuries*; D035441:Thoracic Wall; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D000077212:Ropivacaine