Influence of different anesthesia methods on outcome of elderly patients undergoing hip surgery

To compare the effects of general anesthesia (GA) combined with ultrasound-guided iliac fascia compartment nerve block (NB) versus GA alone on perioperative outcomes, inflammatory response, and recovery in elderly patients undergoing hip surgery.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 200 elderly patients undergoing hip surgery at Liuzhou People's Hospital between Jan 2022 and Jan 2023. Patients were divided into a control group (n=102, GA alone) and an observation group (n=98, GA+NB). Primary outcomes included anesthesia satisfaction, hemodynamic stability, recovery indices (anesthesia recovery time and extubation time), postoperative pain scores, and complications. Serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were detected preoperatively and 3 days postoperatively to evaluate the inflammatory response.

The observation group showed significantly higher anesthesia satisfaction (P<0.001) and more stable hemodynamics (all P<0.05) compared to the control group. Recovery indicators were significantly improved in the observation group, with shorter anesthesia recovery time and extubation time (all P<0.001). The observation group had lower postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores and required fewer supplementary analgesics (all P<0.05). Three days post-surgery, the observation group demonstrated greater improvement in functional outcomes, a lower incidence of nausea/vomiting and postoperative complications (all P<0.05), and lower serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α compared to the control group (all P<0.001).

GA+NB improves anesthesia satisfaction, stabilizes hemodynamics, alleviates inflammation, reduces pain and complications, and accelerates recovery in elderly hip surgery patients, supporting its routine clinical application.