Urgent Ultrasound-Guided Bilateral Stellate Ganglion Blocks in a Patient With Medically Refractory Ventricular Arrhythmias.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the successful treatment of medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias in the ICU with ultrasound-guided bilateral stellate ganglion blocks.

DATA SOURCES: The data were gathered from the medical record.

STUDY SELECTION: This case was selected as it describes the use of ultrasound in the successful termination of a recurrent, malignant arrhythmia, rather than fluoroscopy, to perform bilateral stellate ganglion blocks at the patient's bedside in the ICU.

DATA EXTRACTION: The data were extracted from the medical record.

DATA SYNTHESIS: The data were synthesized from the patient's medical record.

CONCLUSIONS: Performance of stellate ganglion blocks at the bedside in the ICU is feasible for patients who are suffering from refractory ventricular arrhythmias. This potentially life-saving block can be performed using ultrasound guidance, sparing the patient transport to a fluoroscopy suite.