The use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) is associated with better medical and economic outcomes in patients receiving hip and knee replacement, according to a study being presented later this month at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.
The use of PNBs is on the rise, but is still not used routinely in hip and knee arthroplasty.
Stavros G. Memtsoudis, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, and colleagues looked at more than 1 million cases of hip and knee arthroplasty over a 7-year period.
The researchers compared the rate of complications such as myocardial infarction (MI); lung, gastrointestinal, and kidney complications; stroke; infection; wounds; clots; inpatient falls; and mortality in those receiving a PNB to those without the intervention.
They also looked at resource utilisation such as the need for blood transfusion, admission to intensive care, opioid consumption, length of stay, and cost of hospitalisation.
In terms of both complications and resource utilisation, PNBs were associated with better outcomes than when the intervention was not used irrespective of anaesthesia type chosen.
The researchers concluded that increased use of PNBs in patients receiving knee and hip reconstruction and replacement could have a significantly positive impact on medical and economic outcomes.
SOURCE: American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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