HOME
pISSN 2005-9159
eISSN 2093-0569
eISSN 2093-0569
Korean J Pain 2016; 29(1): 18-22
Published online January 31, 2016 https://doi.org/10.3344/kjp.2016.29.1.18
Copyright © The Korean Pain Society.
Sun Kyung Park, Min Ha Sung*, Hae Jin Suh, and Yun Suk Choi*
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Korea.
*Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Korea.
Correspondence to: Yun Suk Choi. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, 15 Aran 13-gil, Jeju 63241, Korea. Tel: +82-64-717-2025, Fax: +82-64-717-2042, solafide5@yahoo.co.kr
Received: September 3, 2015; Revised: October 8, 2015; Accepted: October 16, 2015
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The interscalene brachial plexus block is widely used for pain control and anesthetic purposes during shoulder arthroscopic surgeries and surgeries of the upper extremities. However, it is known that interscalene brachial plexus block is not appropriate for upper limb surgeries because it does not affect the lower trunk (C8-T1, ulnar nerve) of the brachial plexus.
A low approach, ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block (LISB) was performed on twenty-eight patients undergoing surgery of the upper extremities. The patients were assessed five minutes and fifteen minutes after the block for the degree of block in each nerve and muscle as well as for any complications.
At five minutes and fifteen minutes after the performance of the block, the degree of the block in the ulnar nerve was found to be 2.8 ± 2.6 and 1.1 ± 1.8, respectively, based on a ten-point scale. Motor block occurred in the median nerve after fifteen minutes in 26 of the 28 patients (92.8%), and in all of the other three nerves in all 28 patients. None of the patients received additional analgesics, and none experienced complications.
The present study confirmed the achievement of an appropriate sensory and motor block in the upper extremities, including the ulnar nerve, fifteen minutes after LISB, with no complications.
Keywords: Complication, Interscalene brachial plexus block, Nerve stimulator, Sensory block, Ultrasound-guided, Upper limb surgery
