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Guidelines Developed to Address Infections Tied to Regional Anesthesia

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 30, 2025.

THURSDAY, Jan. 30, 2025 -- In multidisciplinary guidelines issued by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and published online Jan. 20 in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, recommendations are presented to address infectious complications associated with regional anesthesia and pain management.

David Anthony Provenzano, M.D., from Pain Diagnostics and Interventional Care in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, and colleagues provide recommendations on risk mitigation, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious complications associated with regional anesthesia and acute and chronic pain management. More than 80 research questions were developed, and literature searches were conducted. The final guidelines were reviewed and approved by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia Pain Medicine Board of Directors.

The recommendations relate to the role of the anesthesiologist and pain physician in infection control, preoperative patient risk factors and management, sterile technique, use and maintenance of equipment, health care setting, surgical technique, postoperative risk reduction, and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of infection. The recommendations were based on risks associated with different settings and procedures and considered the unique characteristics of each patient. Key recommendations include details related to environmental cleaning, disinfection of the syringe tip and injection port, and frequent handwashing.

"Due to the increasing complexity of interventional pain procedures, the rapidly advancing field and a lack of evidence-based recommendations, there is inconsistency in the practice of regional anesthesia and acute and chronic pain medicine related to infection prevention and management," Provenzano said in a statement. "These new guidelines help address these issues and improve outcomes. Following them can make a real difference as we've seen in other surgical subspecialties, which have decreased the rate of surgical site infections after complying with evidence-based infection control strategies."

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

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