Comparative Study of Preoperative Ultrasound Guided Pericapsular Nerve Group Block and Femoral Nerve Block for Analgesia before Spinal Anesthesia for Proximal Femur Fracture Fixation

Abstract

Abstract Background Proximal femur fractures are most common fractures especially in elderly population. Regional anaesthesia is preferred during surgery in these patients. However, the severe pain associated with these injuries makes appropriate positioning difficult for the regional anaesthesia, thus altering their overall success rate, also the majority of patients often experience moderate to severe postoperative pain. Aim of the Work The study aimed to compare between ultrasound guided PENG and FNB using VAS score to assess the overall efficacy for pain relief during patient positioning for spinal anesthesia. Patients and Methods After approval of anaesthesiology department scientific and ethical committees in Ain Shams University Hospitals, 50 patients were included in the study, and were divided into two groups (n = 25; each); group PENG and FNB group. The two groups were adequately monitored and assessed before spinal anesthesia and post-operatively and they were compared regarding analgesic outcome by using the visual analogue scaling system, besides, recording time for first call for rescue analgesia and total amount of analgesia required. Results This study documented that PENG block is comparable to femoral block for postoperative pain control. The PENG block has been described very first in 2018 for preoperative management of femur neck fracture. We observed no statistically significant difference in pain scores during positioning for spinal anesthesia and for first 24 hrs post-operative. Similarly, no significant difference was also found in first rescue analgesia time and Cumulative nalbuphine consumption at 24 hours after surgery between the two groups. Conclusion In the management of hip fractures, PENG block is not associated in the present study with a significant change in pain score during positioning for spinal anesthesia compared to femoral nerve block.