New Trends in Regional Analgesia and Anesthesia

Abstract

Regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine can add significant non-monetary value to a surgical practice and healthcare system in terms of pain relief, reduced incidence of anesthetic- and opioid-related side effects, and faster recovery. Advances in ultrasonic-guided regional anesthesia and analgesia have given clinicians the opportunity to apply new approaches to easily block peripheral nerves. As a result, improvements in outcomes such as analgesia quality, early rehabilitation and patient satisfaction were noted. The use of ultrasound results in faster sensory blocking, shorter performance time, fewer vascular punctures and needle passages. The practice of regional anesthesia has rapidly progressed in recent years with the application of ultrasound which has resulted in a significant improvement in nervous block quality and patient satisfaction. Regional anesthesia has always had a role to play in minimizing peri-operative opioid requirements, but it should no longer be seen as merely an alternative to general anesthesia, rather a complement to an overall multimodal anesthetic strategy.