How nerve block cancer pain techniques are being promoted

A few days ago, a patient with esophageal cancer with extensive metastasis of retroperitoneal lymph nodes had complete relief of epigastric pain after percutaneous nerve plexus block in Downtown Hospital. This marks the success of CT-guided percutaneous peritoneal plexus block (PNCPB) in our city. PNCPB is an effective method to relieve intractable pain in the abdomen, especially in the advanced stage of malignant tumors in the upper abdomen. It is most commonly used in the treatment of persistent pain in the upper abdomen caused by pancreatic cancer, liver tumors, adrenal lymph node metastasis, and clonal disease.CT is known for its clear image, accurate positioning, and high safety. Clinical studies have shown that PNCPB can often relieve or alleviate abdominal cancer pain immediately or on the next day, and some cases produce significant effects after 3-5 days, with the effective rate of unilateral block 70%-88%, and the rate of bilateral block can reach more than 95%. Early use of nerve block can improve patients’ quality of life and reduce morphine dosage and adverse drug reactions. Despite the recent push for morphine analgesia, there are still a number of cases where adequate pain control is not possible. For visceral cancer pain entering stage 3 according to the WHO three-stage ladder, morphine and abdominal plexus block can be used together.