Clonidine has been shown to prolong sensory analgesia when given as an adjunct to peripheral nerve blocks but has not been evaluated when given in conjunction with a femoral-sciatic nerve block. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the addition of clonidine to a femoral-sciatic nerve block would prolong the duration of sensory analgesia in groups of patients undergoing ant...

BACKGROUND Several adjuvants have been proposed to prolong the effect of peripheral nerve blocks, one of which is buprenorphine. In this randomized double blinded placebo controlled trial we studied whether the addition of buprenorphine to a femoral nerve block prolongs analgesia in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty in a fast track surgery protocol. METHODS The treatment group (B) w...

Locoregional anesthetic techniques may be a very useful tool for the anesthetic management of wallabies with injuries of the pelvic limbs and may help to prevent capture myopathies resulting from stress and systemic opioids' administration. This report describes the use of ultrasound-guided femoral and sciatic nerve blocks in Bennett's wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) referred for orthopaedic sur...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of anterior knee pain following intramedullary tibial nail insertion is high. Continuous peripheral nerve blockade is an alternative method of pain control to opiods. This case illustrates the use of femoral nerve and sciatic nerve peripheral catheters with an elastomeric infusion pump for major intramedullary nailing surgery. CASE REPORT A 36-year-old male with frac...

BACKGROUND The transpsoas lateral surgical approach has been advocated as an alternative to direct anterior approaches for less invasive or minimally invasive access to the spine. Postoperative thigh pain, paresthesia, and/or weakness have been described after the use of this surgical approach. The purpose of this cadaveric anatomic study is to provide a description of the lumbar plexus as it r...

AIMS The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a femoral nerve block and a periarticular infiltration in the management of early post-operative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). PATIENTS AND METHODS A pragmatic, single centre, two arm parallel group, patient blinded, randomised controlled trial was undertaken. All patients due for TKA were eligible. Exclusion criteria ...

Meralgia paresthetica refers to the entrapment of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve at the level of the inguinal ligament. The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve - a purely sensory nerve - arises from the L2 and L3 spinal nerve roots, travels downward lateral to the psoas muscle, and then crosses the iliacus muscle. Close to the anterior superior iliac spine, the nerve courses in contact with th...

BACKGROUND We tested the hypothesis that basal (resting) limb blood flow and vascular conductance are reduced with age in adult humans and that these changes are related to elevations in sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerve activity and reductions in limb oxygen demand. METHODS AND RESULTS Sixteen young (28+/-1 years; mean+/-SEM) and 15 older (63+/-1 years) healthy normotensive adult men were st...