Effect of pericapsular nerve group block on perioperative analgesia characteristics for hip fracture operations

Aims: Pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block is a new regional analgesia technique that has recently been used for perioperative analgesia for hip fracture operations. The purpose of this research was to examine the perioperative analgesic characteristics of PENG block in patients who were going to undergo spinal anesthesia for a hip fracture procedure. Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective randomized controlled study between February 2021 and May 2021 after ethics committee approval. Patients with consent were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups (Group-I and Group-II). Patients in Group I underwent a PENG block with a 0.25% concentration of 20 cc bupivacaine in the preoperative waiting room 30 minutes before the operation. Afterward, spinal anesthesia was applied in the operating room. The patients in Group II received only spinal anesthesia. Preoperative visual analog scale (VAS) scores were recorded for both groups in the preoperative period. ECG, arterial blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation measurements were performed in all patients preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Pulse, arterial blood pressure, oxygen saturation measurements, and VAS scores were recorded in the lateral decubitus position before and at the 5th minute after spinal anesthesia. In addition, the comfort of the anesthetist who will administer the spinal anesthesia during the application was questioned (0: poor, 1: moderate, 2: good, 3: very good). All patients 5 min after spinal anesthesia It remained in the lateral position for the duration. VAS scores were recorded during the postoperative phase at the 0th, 2nd, 8th, 16th, and 24th hours, along with the time of the first analgesic administration. The total amount of tramadol and paracetamol taken during the first 24 hours following surgery was noted. Results: Patients; gender, age, body weight, height, BMI, and ASA values were statistically similar (p > 0.05). In comparisons between the groups; During position, postoperative 2nd, 8th, 16th, 24th hours, and their sum, VAS values were found to be statistically lower in Group-I (p < 0.05). While it was found that the first analgesic administration time was statistically longer in Group-I patients (p < 0.001), the amounts of paracetamol and tramadol consumed in the first 24 hours were found to be statistically lower (p < 0.001). In addition, the comfort of the anesthetist during spinal anesthesia was found to be better in Group-I (p: 0.014). Conclusion: PENG block can be used effectively as a part of perioperative multimodal analgesia in hip fracture surgery. PENG can reduce the pain levels of patients with hip fractures as well as reduce the need for additional analgesia. It also increases the comfort of the anesthetist who will administer regional anesthesia.