Perioperative efficacy and safety of nerve blocks in elderly patients undergoing hip surgery:A single-centre randomized trial

Objective As patient comfort is important, the importance of preventive analgesia is increasing. This trial was conducted to explore the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block for elderly patients in the perioperative period of hip surgery. Methods Patients who planned to undergo hip surgery were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received an ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block one day before surgery. The pain score, sleep quality, inflammatory indexes and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results We conducted a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial. Patients who planned to undergo hip surgery were recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. A total of 83 patients were included in the trial. The NRS score of the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group at 4 h after nerve block and in the knee-thoracic position under anaesthesia ( P < 0.05). The sleep quality of the two groups was significantly better on the day of surgery and postoperative day 1 and 2 days than that before surgery ( P < 0.05). Conclusions Ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block for preventive analgesia in elderly patients undergoing hip surgery can effectively relieve acute pain, reduce pain associated with position change under anaesthesia, improve sleep quality during the perioperative period, and avoid increasing inflammatory stress or the incidence of adverse reactions. Trial registration: Clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR2100050537. Full date of the first registration: 28/08/2021.