Role of interventional radiology in upper abdominal cancer pain management

Abstract

BackgroundThe major indication for celiac plexus block is abdominal pain that is nonresponsive to analgesic interventions; often these patients are nonresponsive to high-dose opioid therapies. One of the most common indications for the celiac plexus block is the treatment of abdominal pain associated with pancreatic cancer.Aim of the workThe differences between two techniques (ultrasound and fluoroscopy guided) are highlighted in terms of effectiveness by means of a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a percentage reduction in daily morphine consumption and any complications are recorded and evaluated at the time of implementation of each technique from start to finish.ResultsThrough the data that have been recorded and statistically analyzed, we found that the mean values of VAS were decreased in the two groups, and there was statistically significant difference between ultrasound and fluoroscopy groups.ConclusionsIt is noticeable and good in conducting this research that there are no major complications that include a large space on the study sample, despite the presence of some minor with no significant differences between ultrasound and fluoroscopy groups. This effective celiac block, regardless of the technique used, produced immediate analgesics that permitted significant opioid decrease in the study sample with a significant improvement in the unwanted adverse effects on account of opioids.