Pag. Ouvry et al., PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLERANCE TO LOCAL BLOCK ANESTHESIA FOR SAPHENOUS-VEIN SURGERY - STUDY OF 160 CONSECUTIVE CASES, Vascular surgery, 31(6), 1997, pp. 751-754
The objective of this study was to estimate the psychological toleranc
e to inguinal block anesthesia using a standard stimulus. Subjects stu
died included 160 consecutive patients in whom an intervention was per
formed on the greater saphenous vein at the saphenofemoral junction. T
he ultimate goal was to identify the causes of intolerance to the anes
thesia and to define precise contraindications. The setting was the De
partment of Angiology in the Clinique Saint Pierre in Dieppe. Subjects
studied were 160 consecutive patients operated on for saphenofemoral
junction dysfunction. The study was done to define those who were tole
rant and those who were intolerant of the local block anesthesia. A st
andard stimulus was applied with an electric stimulator. A determinati
on of the tolerant and intolerant patients was done by a simplified fo
rm of the French version of the McGill Pain Institute questionnaire pr
eviously edited by F. Boureau.(7) Of the 160 patients tested, 87% woul
d choose the block anesthetic once again, and 13% regretted having acc
epted that form of anesthesia.