Ultrasound-guided femoral nerve blocks (UGFNBs) are considered the criterion standard
for acute pain management in traumatic femoral fractures [
[1]
]. Emergency physicians (EP) are ideally positioned to perform the UGFNB in a timely
manner but often are forced to delay block placement because of unresolved or ambiguous
practice expectations on the part of collaborating orthopedic, anesthesiology, and
trauma surgery services [
[2]
]. The use of a multidisciplinary consensus protocol to expedite acute interventions
in the emergency department (ED) is a well-established strategy with proven success
in improving outcomes in sepsis, acute coronary syndromes, and stroke [
3
,
4
,
- O’Gara P.T.
- Kushner F.G.
- Ascheim D.D.
- Casey D.E.
- Chung M.K.
- de Lemos J.A.
- et al.
2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction:
executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American
Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines: developed in collaboration with
the American College of Emergency Physicians and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography
and Interventions.
Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2013; 82: E1-E27
5
]. Despite the clear benefits, such a protocol has not yet been described for emergency
regional anesthesia in acute trauma patients.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
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- Improving door-to-needle times in acute ischemic stroke: the design and rationale for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Target: stroke initiative.Stroke. 2011; 42: 2983-2989
- Pain prevalence and pain relief in trauma patients in the accident & emergency department.Injury. 2008; 39: 578-585
- Relieving pain in America: a blueprint for transforming prevention, care, education, and research.National Academies Press (US), Washington (DC)2011
- Femoral nerve block for femoral shaft fractures in a paediatric emergency department: can it be done better?.Eur J Emerg Med. 2003; 10: 258-263
- The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy, and the Asian Australasian Federation of Pain Societies Joint Committee recommendations for education and training in ultrasound-guided interventional pain procedures.Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2012; 37: 657-664
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- Acute compartment syndrome and the role of regional anesthesia.Int Anesthesiol Clin. 2010; 48: 85-105
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: March 28, 2014
Accepted:
March 20,
2014
Received:
March 13,
2014
Footnotes
☆Prior presentations: None.
☆☆Funding sources/disclosures: None.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
