Effects of ultrasound guided femoral nerve block on the pain of patients with femoral fracture in emergency department

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of femoral nerve block under ultrasound guidance on the patients with femoral fracture pain in emergency department. Methods Fifty-seven patients with femoral fracture were used femoral nerve block to treat femoral fracture pain under ultrasound guidance in emergency department. VAS was recorded before the block and at 10, 20, 30 min after the block. Obturator nerve block was added in the patients with no obvious effect with femoral nerve block. Results VAS at 10, 20 and 30 min (4.2±1.2、2.6±1.1、2.4±0.9) in thirty-four patients was significantly lower after femoral nerve block than pre-block (7.3±1.7) (P<0.05). Obturator block was added in twenty-three patients, in eight of them VAS was significantly reduced at 20 and 30 min (4.1±1.1, 3.8±1.2) after the block compared with pre-block (8.0±1.6) (P<0.05), while VAS in another fifteen patients had no obvious change. Conclusion Ultrasound guided femoral nerve block used in emergency department is of good pain relief in middle and lower femoral bone fractures, with not so good effect in upper femoral fractures. Key words: Nerve block; Femoral nerve; Pain; Femoral fracture; Emergency service; Hospital