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MULTIDISCIPLINARY PAIN ABSTRACTS: 13
. Anesthesia (13)
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
pain practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1533-2500
pISSN - 1530-7085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-7085.2004.4007_13.x
Subject(s) - medicine , palpation , neck pain , anesthesia , surgery , pathology , alternative medicine
This study was conducted to evaluate whether the neck skin crease is a reliable indicator of the C6 level. Forty‐nine relatively obese pain clinic patients were investigated. They assumed a standard position for stellate ganglion block (SGB). A radiopaque wire was placed along the neck skin crease caudad to the thyroid cartilage. Next, a radiopaque indicator was placed on the skin above the tubercle found to be most prominent by palpation. X‐rays of the neck were obtained after each procedure. The probability that the neck crease would cross C5, C6, and C7 was 16%, 71%, and 12%, respectively. The most prominent tubercle corresponded to the C5, C6, and C7 levels in 16%, 69%, and l4% of cases, respectively. The studied means to identify the C6 transverse process was found to correlate well with each other (p < 0.001). As the C6 process could not be identified by any of the studied means in 30% of cases, radiological guidance is recommended in order to ensure optimal safety and efficacy of SGB in selected cases.