Open Access

RESIDENT’S CORNER

Celiac plexus block for chronic flank pain: a case series

William W. French¹, Joseph M. Kuebker², Xiang Shu³, Christopher M. Sobey⁴, Ryan S. Hsi²

1 Department of Urology, University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
2 Department of Urology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
3 Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
4 Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Address correspondence to Dr. William W. French, University of North Carolina Medical Center, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 USA

Canadian Journal of Urology 2021, 28(1), 10556-10559.

Abstract

Non-obstructive, chronic flank pain in urologic patients can be a challenging problem to manage. In this series, we examined the efficacy of celiac plexus blockade in providing pain relief and reducing opiate use in 14 adult urology patients with non-obstructive flank pain for > 1 year. Demographic, clinical, and procedural variables were collected from the medical record for retrospective analysis. Subjective improvement in pain occurred in 11 individuals (79%), and 5 (50%) were able to reduce their daily morphine equivalent dose (MED). Celiac plexus blockade is a viable option for symptomatic relief in urologic patients with non-obstructive chronic flank pain.

---

Keywords

---