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Updated: Apr 23, 2026
Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy
Published on: January 31, 2025
[Differences of analgesic efficacy and complication rates between ultrasound and nervestimulator guided peripheral
A Schnabel1, B Middendorf, M G Boschin
1Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Intensivmedizin und Schmerztherapie, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1 (Gebäude A1), 48149, Münster, Deutschland.
Background:
Peripheral nerve catheters (PNC) play an important role in postoperative pain treatment following major extremity surgery. There are several trials reported in the literature which investigated the efficacy and safety of ultrasound (US) and nerve stimulator (NS) guided PNC placement; however, most of these trials were only small and focused mainly on anesthesiologist-related indicators of block success (e.g. block onset time and procedure time) but not primarily on patient-related outcome data including postoperative pain during movement.
Aim:
This retrospective analysis compared the analgesic efficacy and safety of US versus NS guided peripheral nerve catheters (PNC) for postoperative pain therapy in a large cohort of patients.
Material And Methods:
Data of patients (June 2006-December 2010) treated with US (nus = 368 June 2008-December 2010) and NS (nns = 574, June 2006-May 2008) guided PNC were systematically analyzed. Apart from demographic data, postoperative pain scores [numeric rating scale (NRS): 0-10] on each treatment day, the number of patients with need for additional opioids, cumulative local anesthetic consumption and catheter-related complications were compared.
Results:
On the day of surgery patients treated with US-guided PNC reported lower NRS at rest (p = 0.034) and during movement (p < 0.001). Additionally, the number of patients requiring additional opioids on the day of surgery was lower in the US group (absolute difference 12.4 %, p = 0.001). Furthermore, the number of multiple puncture attempts (absolute difference 5.6 %, p < 0.001) and failed catheter placements (absolute difference 3.4 %, p = 0.06) were lower in the US group. There were no patients in both groups with long-lasting neurological impairment.
Conclusion:
This database analysis demonstrated that patients treated with US-guided PNC reported significantly lower postoperative pain scores and the number of patients requiring additional opioids was significantly lower on the day of surgery. The numbers of multiple punctures and failed catheter placements were reduced in the US group, which might be seen as an advantage of US-guided regional anaesthesia.
