Our clinical experiences in ultra-sound guided peripheral nerve blocks: a retrospective evaluation

Abstract

Abstract:Peripheral nerve blocks are commonly used in extremity surgeries for anesthetic and/or postoperative analgesic purposes with general anesthesia. Ultra-sound (US) guided peripheral nerve blocks that have been used in recent years provide many superiorities in comparison with other conventional methods. The objective of this retrospective study was to carry out a retrospective evaluation of our experiences regarding 400 patients on whom US guided peripheral nerve was applied at the Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation during June 2012-March 2016. Demographic data of the patients, block type, purpose of block (for surgical or analgesic), type and volume of the local anesthetic, type of US probe, needle length, block success, toxicity finding and complications were all recorded. Blocks were performed for analgesia in 16% of the patients and for anesthesia in 84%. Lidocaine+bupivacaine combination, bupivacaine+prilocaine combination and bupivacaine were used on 82%, 13% and 5% of the patients as local anesthetic agent, respectively. Linear US probe (6-13 MHz) was used for all patients. In conclusion, US guided peripheral nerve blocks provide adequate depth of anesthesia and analgesia. It was found to be safe and useful and may be a good alternative to general anesthesia