Needle Nerve Contact in Ultrasound Guided Femoral Block

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Peripheral Nerve Injury
• Interventions: Procedure: Needle placement

• Registration Number: NCT01554722
• Lead Sponsor: Hospital Clinic of Barcelona

Brief Summary

Ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block is a common regional anesthesia technique. The optimal method of needle guidance (in-plane versus out-of-plane) with regards to the block efficacy and avoidance of needle-nerve contact has not been established. In this study the investigators tests the hypothesis that the incidence of needle-nerve contact is higher with the needle insertion in an out-of-plane than with the in-plane approach.

Detailed Description

Fourty-four patients with hip fracture (American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1-3) are being randomized to receive the femoral block with an out-of-plane (needle inserted at a 45°-60° angle 1 cm caudal to the midpoint of the ultrasound probe just above the femoral nerve) or an in-plane technique (needle inserted 0.5 cm from the side of the probe lateral to the femoral nerve). The data collected includes the depth of needle insertion at the endpoint before injection, response to nerve stimulation, distribution of the injected volume in relation to the nerve (anterior vs posterior, the latter indicating impalement), block efficacy at 20 minutes and 24 hours, and any signs of nerve injury).

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2011-11
• Study First Submitted: 2012-02-27
• Status Verified: 2012-03
• Primary Completion: 2012-03
• Study Completion: 2012-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2012-03-13
• Last Update Submitted: 2012-03-13
• Study First Posted: 2012-03-15
• Last Update Posted: 2012-03-15

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 44

Inclusion Criteria

• ASA physical status 1-3 patients
• Diagnosis of trochanteric or cervical hip fracture
• Hip replacement under spinal anesthesia

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients under the age of 65 years or over the age of 90 years

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
in plane needle placement	Needle placement	-
out of plane needle placement	Needle placement	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of intraneural needle insertion in ultrasound-guided femoral block: out-of-plane versus in-plane approach	4 months	The incidence of needle-nerve contact is higher with the out-of-plane approach (inserting the needle into the fascia at the midpoint over the femoral nerve)needle-nerve contact than with the in-plane approach (inserting the needle lateral to the femoral nerve).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants with femoral block success in ultrasound-guided femoral block: out-of-plane versus in-plane approach.	4 months	The efficacy of the out-of-plane approach (inserting the needle into the fascia at the midpoint over the femoral nerve)needle-nerve contact and the in-plane approach (inserting the needle lateral to the femoral nerve).

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

St Luke'S Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University; 🇺🇸 New York, New York, United States

University of Barcelona; 🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain