The Lateral Femoral Cutaneous and Over the Hip (LOH) Block for the Surgical Management of Hip Fractures: A Safe and Effective Anesthetic Strategy

Objectives:To examine the efficacy of regional anesthesia with sedation only for a variety of hip fractures using the newly described lateral femoral cutaneous with over the hip (LOH) block.Design:RetrospectiveSetting:Orthopedic specialty hospitalPatients/Participants:40 patients who presented between November 2021 and February 2022 for fixation of OTA/AO 31.A1-3 and 31.B1-3 fractures. Matched cohorts of 40 patients who received general anesthesia and 40 patients who received spinal anesthesia for hip fracture fixation were also used.Intervention:Operative fixation under LOH block and sedation only. The LOH block is a regional hip analgesic that targets the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, articular branches of femoral nerve, and accessory obturator nerve.Main Outcome Measurements:Demographics, intraoperative characteristics, anesthesia-related complications, hospital quality metrics, and short-term mortality and reoperation rates.Results:A total of 120 patients (40 each: general, spinal, and LOH block) were compared. The cohorts were similar in age, race, body mass index, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, trauma risk score, ambulatory status at baseline, fracture type, and surgical fixation technique performed. Physiologic parameters during surgery were more stable in the LOH block cohort (P < 0.05). Total OR time and anesthesia time were the shortest for the LOH block cohort (P < 0.05). Patients in the LOH block cohort also had lower postoperative pain scores (P < 0.05). Length of hospital stay was the shortest for patients in the LOH block cohort (P < 0.05), and during discharge, patients in the LOH block cohort ambulated the furthest (P < 0.05). No differences were found for anesthesia-related complications, palliative care consults, major and minor hospital complications, discharge disposition, reoperation and readmission rates, and mortality rates.Conclusions:The LOH block is safe and effective anesthesia for the treatment of all types of hip fractures in the elderly patients requiring surgery. In addition, this block may decrease postoperative pain and length of hospital stay, and allow for greater ambulation in the early postoperative period for patients with hip fracture.