Patient knowledge and preference in regional anaesthesia

Abstract

In contrast to CPNB-related neurological adverse events, the association between the CPNB treatment and infectious adverse events is obvious. As in other studies, 2,7 the risk increased with the duration of treatment. In patients with a major infectious complication the catheter was removed after 73 h [IQR 49 to 93] compared with 50 h [IQR 44 to 70] in those with an uneventful course (P < 0.001). Patient satisfaction was generally high (97.6%), but significantly worse in patients with neurological adverse events (P < 0.001). Strengths of our study include the assessment of adverse events in a large cohort of CPNBs, the prospective data entry by a dedicated APS team and the consideration of two independent data bases. Limitations include the retrospective nature of data analyses. Accordingly, presence of some bias is inevitable. Considering the long period of data collection, a certain inconsistency in the documentation by the multiple examiners was unavoidable. Although single-shot techniques were used extensively at our institution, we were not able to make comparisons with CPNBs because the group of patients treated with single-shot nerve blocks were not rigorously followed up by dedicated personnel. In summary, our analyses confirm a low complication rate, a high satisfaction rate and good pain control achieved by CPNB, also found in other series. 1,2 Complications can be reduced by careful treatment, frequent practice and specific training of the anaesthetists, but cannot be completely prevented. Removal of the catheters as soon as possible, that is after achieving sufficient pain control by systemic medication, is encouraged. Our research provides additional information to adequately inform patients on the risks and benefits of CPNBs. Acknowledgements relating to this article