Combining interscalene brachial plexus block with intravenous-inhalation combined anesthesia for upper extremity fractures surgery: A randomized controlled trial

Background: A parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to evaluate the effect of combining the interscalene brachial plexus block (IBPB) with Intravenous-inhalation combined anesthesia to isolated Intravenous-inhalation anesthesia in the upper extremity fractures surgery of elderly patients. Methods: One hundred elderly patients who underwent upper extremity surgery were randomly assigned to received isolated Intravenous-inhalation combined anesthesia (group CI, n = 50) and IBPB associated with Intravenous-inhalation combined anesthesia (group NB, n = 50). Associated side effects, recovery time after operation, as well as the dose of intraoperative vasoactive agents and auxiliary drugs were noted. Results: The two groups were not significantly different in gender (P = 0.539), ages (P = 0.683) and weight (P = 0.212). Five patients (10%) in the group NB and 17 patients (34%) in the group CI suffered from preoperative hypotension (P = 0.004). Besides, lower incidence of other adverse effects such as mental stress, incision pain and hypertension were also found in the group NB; however, the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The consumption of general anesthetics in the group NB was significantly less than that of the group CI (propofol, P = 0.004; lsoflurane, P < 0.001), and the recovery time of the group NB was significantly shorter than that of the group CI (P = 0.020). Conclusion: Combining IBPB with Intravenous-inhalation combined anesthesia in elderly patients hold a greater potential for upper extremity fractures surgery due to its improved clinical effectiveness and fewer side effects. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Surgical Associates Ltd.