Efficacy of femoral nerve block and intravenous fentanyl for ease of positioning during spinal Anesthesia for fracture neck femur surgeries: A randomized comparative study

Fracture femur is common orthopaedic presentation following trauma. It is extremely painful bone injury because periosteum has the lowest pain threshold of the deep somatic structures. The definitive management  is to fix the fracture and spinal anaesthesia is preferred. The only concern is pain which may results in improper position for Subarachnoid block. 

Amongst analgesics, opioids are the gold standard out of which Fentanyl is preferred as it is more potent with rapid onset and short duration of action with less sedation, respiratory depression, nausea and histamine mediated itching as compared to other opioids.

Regional anesthetic techniques have the theoretical advantage of avoiding the systemic effects of opioid analgesia, while providing analgesic that targets pain both at rest (static) and on movement (dynamic).Various peripheral nerve blocks have been used increasingly. Femoral nerve block is popular because it is safe and easy to perform. Being superficial nerve, landmarks are easily identifiable