ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the anesthetic effect of interscalene joint axillary brachial plexus block guided by nerve stimulator or conventional paresthesia in elderly patients with upper extremity surgery.Methods Sixty cases of ASA grade Ⅱ-Ⅲ elderly patients with upper extremity surgery were divided into two groups by random number table.Nerve stimulator group (30 cases) received interscalene joint axillary brachial plexus block guided by nerve stimulator.Paresthesia group (30 cases) received interscalene joint axillary brachial plexus block guided by conventional paresthesia.Both groups used the same local anesthetic:0.375％ ropivacaine,the dosage was 0.4 ml/kg.Anesthetic dose between interscalene and axillary in two groups in half.The operating time,block onset time,duration of analgesia,anesthetic effect [used by visual analogue scale (VAS) scores] and adverse reaction in two groups were observed and recorded.Results The operating time and block onset time in nerve stimulator group were significantly shorter than those in paresthesia group[(5.2 ± 1.7) min vs.(8.6 ± 2.2) min and (19.4 ± 3.2) min vs.(29.0 ± 3.9) min],VAS scores was lower than that in paresthesia group [(0.7 ± 0.4) scores vs.(2.3 ± 0.8) scores],there were significant differences (P ＜ 0.01).There was no significant difference in duration of analgesia between two groups [(12.4 ± 3.6) h vs.(13.1 ± 3.8) h,P ＞0.05].Nerve stimulator group without adverse reactions.Paresthesia group had 5 cases of adverse reactions,including local hematoma in 2 cases,laryngeal recurrent nerve paralysis in 1 case,horner syndrome in 2 cases.Conclusion Interscalene joint axillary brachial plexus block guided by nerve stimulator in elderly patients is accurate positioning,high success rate,good anaesthesia effect,less adverse reaction,and worth promoting in clinical.