Prospective Clinical Trial Comparing Infraclavicular Versus Axillary Approach to Brachial Plexus Block

Summary

The brachial plexus block is an anesthetic technique often used for surgical procedures of the upper limb. To get the brachial plexus block, several routes can be used, including the axillary and infraclavicular approach. Few studies have compared these techniques, considering the time to perform the block, the onset time and success rate, with conflicting results. Furthermore, there is little information in the literature comparing the length of postoperative analgesia provided by these techniques. Therefore, the investigators designed this study in order to elucidate the differences between these two techniques to assist the anesthesiologist to choose the best of them in clinical practice.

Timeline

Start

2014-02

Primary completion

2015-03

Completion

2015-03

Publications

• Background Tran DQ, Russo G, Munoz L, Zaouter C, Finlayson RJ. A prospective, randomized comparison between ultrasound-guided supraclavicular, infraclavicular, and axillary brachial plexus blocks. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2009 Jul-Aug;34(4):366-71. doi: 10.1097/AAP.0b013e3181ac7d18.
• Background Song IA, Gil NS, Choi EY, Sim SE, Min SW, Ro YJ, Kim CS. Axillary approach versus the infraclavicular approach in ultrasound-guided brachial plexus block: comparison of anesthetic time. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2011 Jul;61(1):12-8. doi: 10.4097/kjae.2011.61.1.12. Epub 2011 Jul 21.
• Background Lopez-Morales S, Moreno-Martin A, Leal del Ojo JD, Rodriguez-Huertas F. [Ultrasound-guided axillary block versus ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block for upper extremity surgery]. Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim. 2013 Jun-Jul;60(6):313-9. doi: 10.1016/j.redar.2013.02.012. Epub 2013 May 15. Spanish.
• Background Koscielniak-Nielsen ZJ, Frederiksen BS, Rasmussen H, Hesselbjerg L. A comparison of ultrasound-guided supraclavicular and infraclavicular blocks for upper extremity surgery. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2009 May;53(5):620-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2009.01909.x.
• Background Ootaki C, Hayashi H, Amano M. Ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block: an alternative technique to anatomical landmark-guided approaches. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2000 Nov-Dec;25(6):600-4. doi: 10.1053/rapm.2000.18184.
• Background Sandhu NS, Capan LM. Ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block. Br J Anaesth. 2002 Aug;89(2):254-9. doi: 10.1093/bja/aef186.
• Background Tran DQ, Clemente A, Tran DQ, Finlayson RJ. A comparison between ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block using the "double bubble" sign and neurostimulation-guided axillary block. Anesth Analg. 2008 Sep;107(3):1075-8. doi: 10.1213/ane.0b013e31817ef259.
• Background Arcand G, Williams SR, Chouinard P, Boudreault D, Harris P, Ruel M, Girard F. Ultrasound-guided infraclavicular versus supraclavicular block. Anesth Analg. 2005 Sep;101(3):886-890. doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000159168.69934.CC.
• Background Ferraro LH, Takeda A, dos Reis Falcao LF, Rezende AH, Sadatsune EJ, Tardelli MA. Determination of the minimum effective volume of 0.5% bupivacaine for ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block. Braz J Anesthesiol. 2014 Jan-Feb;64(1):49-53. doi: 10.1016/j.bjane.2013.03.014. Epub 2013 Dec 2.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.