Fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) as pain treatment in older persons with suspected hip fractures in prehospital emergency care - A comparative pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Older persons with a suspected hip fracture and suffering considerable pain are common patients in the emergency medical services (EMS). Pain treatment needs to be improved and fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) can be one option. The purpose of this paper was to analyse prehospital pain in patients with a suspected hip fracture under EMS care and to compare standard treatment and FICB. METHODS: An evaluation of a retrospective case-control study comprising 135 patients from a pilot project with FICB in an EMS organisation in Sweden. The control patients were matched with FICB patients. Pain was assessed on the arrival of the EMS and on arrival in hospital. RESULTS: In all, 27 patients received FICB and 108 had standard pain treatment. There was a significant reduction in pain in both groups. However, there was a more marked reduction in pain among patients who received FICB than in the control group. So, for static pain, 56% experienced a reduction in pain in the FICB group versus 30% among controls (p < 0.01). The corresponding values for dynamic pain were 85% and 59% (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: FICB can be a good supplement to standard prehospital pain treatment in patients with suspected hip fractures.

Evaluation and treatment of pain in the pre-hospital setting. A comparison between patients with a hip injury, chest pain and abdominal pain.

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of patients who call 112 in Sweden do so because of pain. The purpose of this study was to compare three of the most common types of pain presented by the patients: chest pain, abdominal pain and hip injury, in terms of initial assessment, intensity, treatment and effect of treatment. The overall rationale was to evaluate whether the early assessment and treatment of pain in the pre-hospital setting is optimal or whether there is room for improvement. METHODS: Observational study during 2016 including 1234 patients triaged to chest pain, abdominal pain and hip injury by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Gothenburg, Sweden. RESULTS: Severe pain on the arrival of the EMS was described by 39% of patients with a hip injury, 27% with abdominal pain and 15% with chest pain. Analgesics were given to 58% of patients with a hip injury, 35% with chest pain and 34% with abdominal pain. A lower intensity of pain at re-evaluation was observed in 80% of patients with a hip injury, 57% with chest pain and 43% with abdominal pain. Administration of analgesics increased with the duration of pre-hospital care time in all three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a hip injury had the most severe pain and they received most pain-relieving medication. Overall, a relatively small proportion of patients with pain received pain-relieving medication and there appears to be an extensive room for improvement.

Prehospital lactate levels in blood as a seizure biomarker: A multi-center observational study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the value of prehospital measurement of lactate level in blood for diagnosis of seizures in cases of transient loss of consciousness. METHODS: Between March 2018 and September 2019, prehospital lactate was measured with a point-of-care device by the emergency medical services in an area serving a population of 900 000. A total of 383 cases of transient loss of consciousness were identified and categorized as tonic-clonic seizure (TCS), other seizure, syncope, or other cause, according to the final diagnosis in the electronic medical records system. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to identify the optimal lactate cut-off. RESULTS: A total of 383 cases were included (135 TCS, 42 other seizure, 163 syncope, and 43 other causes). The median lactate level in TCS was 7.0 mmol/L, compared to a median of 2.0 mmol/L in all other cases (P < .001). The area under the curve (AUC) of TCS vs nonepileptic causes was 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-0.91). The optimal cut-off (Youden index, 67.8%) was 4.75 mmol/L, with 79% sensitivity (95% CI 71-85) and 89% specificity (95% CI 85-93) for TCS. SIGNIFICANCE: Prehospital lactate can be a valuable tool for identifying seizures in transient loss of consciousness. For acceptable specificity, a higher cut-off than that previously demonstrated for hospital-based measurements must be used when values obtained close to the time of the event are interpreted.

Evaluation of the intensity and management of pain before arrival in hospital among patients with suspected hip fractures.

BACKGROUND: Pain management needs to be comprehensively investigated in patients with hip fractures, as it represents a fast-growing challenge to emergency care. The purpose of this study was to describe reported pain in patients with suspected hip fractures in a prehospital setting. METHODS: In this observational study, 1,426 patients with a suspected hip fracture were included. Dynamic and static pain were assessed on the arrival of the emergency medical services (EMS) and on hospital admission using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), if feasible, and the Behaviour Rating Scale (BRS), if not. RESULTS: On EMS arrival, the median dynamic NRS pain score was eight and 84% of the patients had severe or moderate dynamic pain according to the BRS. On admission to hospital, the median dynamic NRS pain score was reduced to five and 45% of the patients had reduced dynamic pain according to the BRS. Among all patients, the NRS was judged to be feasible and was therefore used in 36%. Furthermore, there was an association between the decrease in pain and the increase in the number of administered medications, as well as the duration of prehospital care. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with suspected hip fractures suffered substantial pain on EMS arrival. Only half experienced a reduction in pain on hospital admission and only 75% received pain-relieving medication.

Fascia iliaca compartment block as a preoperative analgesic in elderly patients with hip fractures - effects on cognition.

BACKGROUND: Impaired cognition is a major risk factor for perioperative delirium. It is essential to provide good pain control in patients with hip fractures and especially important in patients with severely impaired cognitive status, as they receive less pain medication, have poorer mobility, poorer quality of life and higher mortality than patients with intact cognition. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between preoperative pain management with nerve blocks and cognitive status in patients with hip fractures during the perioperative period. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-seven patients with hip fractures participating in a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial were included in this study. At hospital admission, a low-dose fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) was administered as a supplement to regular analgesia. Cognitive status was registered on arrival at hospital before FICB and on the first postoperative day using the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. RESULTS: Changes in cognitive status from arrival at hospital to the first postoperative day showed a positive, albeit not significant, trend in favour of the intervention group. The results also showed that patients with no or a moderate cognitive impairment received 50% more prehospital pain medication than patients with a severe cognitive impairment. FICB was well tolerated in patients with hip fractures. CONCLUSION: Fascia iliaca compartment block given to patients with hip fractures did not affect cognitive status in this study. Patients with a cognitive impairment may receive inadequate pain relief after hip fracture and this discrimination needs to be addressed in further studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT number 2008-004303-59 date of registration: 2008-10-24.

Pre-operative pain management with nerve block in patients with hip fractures: a randomized, controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Pain management in patients with hip fractures is a major challenge for emergency care. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the supplementation of pre-operative analgesia with low-dose fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) compared with placebo would improve pain relief in patients with hip fractures. METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 127 patients. At hospital admission, a low-dose FICB was administered to patients with hip fractures as a supplement to regular pre-operative analgesia. Patients with and without cognitive impairment were included. The instruments used were a visual analogue scale (VAS), a numerical rating scale and a tool for behavior related pain assessment. The primary endpoint was the change in reported pain on movement from hospital admission to two hours after FICB. RESULTS: The intervention group showed improved pain management by mean VAS score for pain on movement compared with the control group (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the use of low-dose FICB as a pain-relieving adjuvant to other analgesics when administered to patients with a hip fracture.