Ultrasonography (US)guidance in infraclavicular block: Comparison of US vs. US + neurostimulation in a prospective,randomised study [Ultrasonografi̇ (US) rehberli̇ǧi̇nde i̇nfraklavi̇küler blok: US i̇le US + si̇ni̇r stimülasyonu'nun prospekti̇f,randomi̇ze çalişmayla karşilaştirilmasi]

Objective: this study aims to compare the block performance time,sensory and motor block qualities of ultrasound guided infraclavicular block with ultrasound guided infraclavicular block with neurostimulation. method: forty patients undergoing hand,wrist and elbow surgery were included in the study. patients were divided randomly into 2 groups as us and usns before the surgery. local anesthetic solution was composed of 20 ml bupivacaine + 10 ml prilocaine. in the us group,30 ml of local anesthetic was injected by minimum possible number of injections around the axillery artery in a u shaped pattern. in the usns group,the injection was performed by single injection of 30 ml of local anesthetic,after observation of fine motor movements of the hand (of median,ulnar or radial nerve) by the stimulation with 0,6-0,4 ma. the block performance times were noted and patient discomfort was evaluated by vas(0-10). sensory and motor block levels were assessed 10 minutes after the la injection. results: patient characteristics were similar in both groups. block success rates were 90,5% in us group and 89,5% in usns group with no significant difference. block performance times were found to be similar in both groups [185 sn (96-565) vs 170,5 sn (84-639),p= 0,754],number of needle guidance during the procedure was significantly higher in the us group,compared to the usns group [3(1-4) vs 1(1-1),p=<0,001]. sensory and motor block quality were similar in both groups at durations of 10th,20th ve 30th minutes. conclusion: in this study,similar results were obtained by infraclavicular block observing the spread of la around axillary artery with us-only,compared to the utility of neurostimulation with us guidance,with regard to block performance times,sensory and motor block qualities.