Clinical study of nerve stimulator guided peripheral nerve block compared with spinal anesthesia in lower limb surgery

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nerve stimulator guided peripheral nerve block in lower limb surgery.Methods Forty-six ASA Ⅰ-Ⅲ patients scheduled for lower limb surgery were randomly assigned to peripheral nerve block group (group N) and subarachnoid block group (group S), with 23 cases each. The patients in group N received lumbar plexus-sciatic nerve block or sciatic-femoral nerve block using peripheral nerve stimulator. The local anesthetic drug was 0.4% ropivacaine, and the amount of drug for lumbar plexus block was 30 ml and 20 ml for sciatic nerve block or femoral nerve block. The patients in group S received subarachnoid block. The local anesthetic drug was 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine, and the amount of drug was 2.2-2.8 ml. Hemodynamic, nerve block parameters, the effect of nerve block, patient comfort and complications of two groups were assessed.Results The systolic and diastolic blood pressures were smoother in group N (P0.05). The onset time of effectiveness of group S was shorter than group N(P0.01). The incidence of nausea, vomiting and urinary retention was higher in group S than those of group N(P0.01).Conclusion Nerve stimulator guided peripheral nerve block for lower limb surgery is an effective and safe anesthetic means.