Peripheral Nerve Blocks Linked to Improved Outcomes

The use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) is associated with better medical and economic outcomes in patients receiving hip and knee replacement, according to research being presented at the 41st Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting later this month. A team of researchers looked at more than 1 million cases of hip and knee arthroplasty over a 7-year period. They compared the rate of complications such as heart attack; 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 utilization such as the need for blood transfusion, admission to intensive care, opioid consumption, length of stay, and cost of hospitalization. View the poster “The impact of peripheral nerve blocks on perioperative outcome in hip and knee arthroplasty – a population based study.”