Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks in emergency medicine practice: 2022 updates

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Pain Management
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks (UGNBs) are integral to multimodal pain management in Emergency Departments (EDs).
• Assessing current national practices and trends in UGNBs is crucial for optimizing patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate national practices of UGNBs in academic medical center EDs.
• To identify trends in UGNB utilization and outcomes over time.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional electronic survey of 108 academic EDs with ultrasound fellowships in the US.
• Data collected on UGNB practice patterns, training, and complications (November 2021-June 2022).
• Survey results compared with previous data from 2016 to identify trends.

Main Results:

• 100% of responding programs perform UGNBs, a 16% increase in 5 years.
• Forearm UGNBs (96%) for fracture pain (84%) are most common.
• 85% of programs report high effectiveness (≥80%) and no complications.

Conclusions:

• UGNBs are widely adopted, safe, and effective in academic EDs.
• Opportunities exist for practice improvement through standardized guidelines and multidisciplinary committees.
• Optimizing patient safety and outcomes through standardized UGNB protocols is recommended.