Ultrasound Guided Fascia Iliaca Block for Postoperative Analgesia After Elective Total Hip Arthroplasty

Total hip arthroplasty is associated with moderate to severe pain in the acute postoperative period, which can increase the risk of postoperative complications such as thromboembolism, myocardial ischemia/infarction, pneumonia, poor wound healing, insomnia, and delirium.

Sensory innervation of the hip joint comes from a combination of peripheral nerves, including femoral, obturator, sciatic, superior gluteal, and nerve for the quadratus femoris muscle. Superficial innervation of the skin involved in incision for hip arthroplasty comes from the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN).

The fascia iliaca block (FIB) was originally described in 1989 using a landmark technique. The ultrasound guided FIB was introduced in recent years, and has been shown to produce a better quality of block than the landmark technique. It appears to consistently block the femoral and LFCN, while being less successful in achieving consistent obturator blockade.

The FIB is effective for analgesia for hip fracture injuries in the emergency department. Thus far, there has been limited exploration into the potential use of this block as a tool for postoperative analgesia after elective hip arthroplasty. The potential benefits of this regional block, as with other regional techniques, include better analgesia, less opioid use and associated side effects, and an improved overall patient satisfaction with postoperative recovery.