Peripheral Nerve Blocks Flashcards
What are advantages of peripheral nerve blocks?
Decrease in: Stress response Systemic analgesia requirement opioid related side effects general anesthesia requirement incidence/occurrence of chronic pain
Potent analgesia
T/F; Peripheral nerve block will decrease phantom pain for chronic issues?
True
What type of patient selection should be considered for a peripheral nerve block?
Hx: Chronic Pain
Opioid resistance
Comorbidities
Do not tolerate opioid use (N/V)
What are the consideration before doing a peripheral nerve block?
- Tourniquet placement
- bone grafting
- projected duration of surgery
- single injection or continous peripheral nerve block
What are the risk to performing a peripheral nerve block?
Nerve injury
Local anesthetic toxicity
Intravascular injection
Perivascular absorption
What are contraindication of a peripheral nerve block?
-Patient cooperation and participation Children Mentally handicap Bleeding disorders Site of infection
What is to be considered when choosing a local anesthetic for peripheral nerve block?
- Onset
- Desired duration
- Desired sensory
- Motor block
Patient preparation is doing what?
- Use of hemodynamic monitors
- Supplemental oxygen
- Resusitative medication and equipment ready
- Patient positioning
- Intravenous premedication
- Strict Sterile Technique
List the various Block Techniques.
- Field block technique
- Paresthesia Technique
- Nerve stimulation Technique
- Ultrasound technique
Describe a field block technique.
- Local anesthetic injection that targets terminal cutaneous nerves
- Commonly used by surgeons to minimize incisional pain
- Undesirable when block may obscure the operative anatomy or where local tissue acidosis (infection) prevents effective local anesthetic function.
Describe a paresthesia technique.
Formerly the mainstay of regional anesthesia
Practitioner uses known anatomic relationships and surface landmarks as a guide
Block needle is inserted in proximity of the target nerve or nerve plexus
When needle makes direct contact with a sensory nerve, a paresthesia is elicited and the LA is injected
Describe a nerve Stimulation technique.
When the insulated needle is placed in proximity to a motor nerve, muscle contractions are induced.
It is common to redirect the block needle until muscle contractions occur at a current less than 0.5 mA
Some thought that a muscle contraction elicited at less than 0.2 mA implies intraneural needle placement.
30-40 ml of local anesthetic is injected with gentle aspiration, and divided doses.
Describe a ultra sound technique.
Ultrasound for peripheral nerve location and subsequent block is becoming increasingly popular.
Used alone or with other techniques; (nerve stimulation)
Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves emitted from piezoelectric crystals that travel at different rates through tissues of different densities, returning a signal to the transducer.
1-20 MHz
Based on the amplitude of signal received, the crystals deform to create an electronic voltage “picture” or a two-dimensional grayscale image.
What is echogenicity?
The degree of efficiency with which sound passes through a substance.
What is hypoechoic?
- structures and substances through which sound easily passes. Appear dark or black on the ultrasound screen. (solid organs, deep structures - attenuation limits beam transmission to reach structures, resulting in a weak returning echo.
)
What is hyperechoic?
structures reflecting more sound waves appear brighter, “white” on the ultrasound screen. (diaphragm, gallstones, bone, pericardium)
What is anechoic?
No reflection (fluid and blood filled structures)
What probe uses a high frequency transducer that offers a high resolution picture with less tissue penetration.
- Good for superficial nerves
- Provide undistorted image
- First choice among practitioners
Linear Probe