Dorsal Digital Nerve Block vs. Ultrasound-Guided Selective Peripheral Nerve Block for Finger Analgesia: A Randomized...

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Anesthesiology
• Pain Management

Background:

• Digital nerve block (DNB) is a common method for finger analgesia.
• Patients with finger injuries often require effective pain management in emergency settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient-reported discomfort and analgesic effectiveness between DNB and ultrasound-guided selective peripheral nerve blocks (SPNBs) for finger injuries.
• To evaluate pain on injection, onset and duration of analgesia, block failure rates, and patient satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• A prospective randomized study involving 106 adult patients with finger injuries and pain scores >5.
• Patients received either DNB or SPNBs for analgesia.
• Primary outcome was pain on injection; secondary outcomes included analgesia onset, duration, and patient satisfaction.

Main Results:

• SPNBs demonstrated significantly lower pain scores during injection compared to DNBs (p ≤ 0.01).
• Analgesia onset was faster with DNBs (178 ± 36 s) than SPNBs (264 ± 61 s) (p < 0.001).
• Analgesia duration was significantly longer with SPNBs (18.64 ± 2.88 h) compared to DNBs (11.34 ± 2.87 h) (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Ultrasound-guided SPNBs provide superior subjective comfort and analgesic efficacy over dorsal DNBs for procedural analgesia in finger injuries.
• SPNBs are recommended for improved patient experience and pain management in finger injuries.