Is Continuous PENG Block the New 3-in-1?
Olga Santos
1
, Rui Pereira
1
, Tiago Cabral
2
, Neusa Lages
1
and Humberto Machado
1,3,4*
1
Hospital and University Center of Porto, Porto, Portugal
2
Hospital of the Divino Espírito Santo, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
3
Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
4
Central Research Center in Anesthesiology, Hospital and University Center of Porto, Porto, Portugal
*
Corresponding author: Dr Humberto S. Machado, Central Research Center in Anesthesiology, Hospital and University Center of Porto, Porto, Portugal, Tel:
+351935848475; E-mail: hjs.machado@gmail.com
Received date: April 22, 2019; Accepted date: June 21, 2019; Published date: June 28, 2019
Copyright: © 2019 Santos O, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Fascia iliaca or femoral nerve blocks are used frequently for hip fracture patients due to the opioid-sparing
effects. However, these techniques prove to be insufficient in many cases. A recent anatomical study on hip
innervation, led to the identification of relevant landmarks to target the hip articular branches, namely the
Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG), which allowed a novel ultrasound-guided approach. The aim of this case report
is to show an anesthetic technique not described previously, that included an ultra-sound guided PENG block with
perineural catheter.
Keywords: Peripheral nerve blocks; Hip surgery; Accessory
obturator nerve
Introduction
Peripheral nerve blocks are becoming increasingly popular for hip
arthroplasty anesthesia. Modern regional anesthesia for major hip
surgery includes the use of a single shot and continuous epidural or
spinal injections, continuous lumbar plexus blockade and continuous
peripheral blockade of the femoral nerve (FN), fascia iliaca (FI) block,
3-in-1 FN block and sciatic nerve [1,2]. Te use of either single shot or
continuous peripheral nerve blocks are becoming increasingly popular.
Tese techniques have shown efective and safe postoperative pain
control, resulting in lower opioid consumption, improved earlier
rehabilitation and high patient satisfaction [2]. Taking into account
previous anatomical studies, the anterior hip capsule is innervated by
the obturator nerve (ON), accessory obturator nerve (AON) and FN1.
A recent anatomical study by Short et al confrmed the innervation
of the anterior hip and also identifed the relevant landmarks for those
articular branches [3]. Ultrasound-guided techniques for blockade of
these articular branches to the hip include the PENG block, which has
been described in a recent paper with promising results [1]. We will be
reporting on the anesthetic management of a patient proposed for a
second lef hip prosthesis revision. An ultra-sound guided PENG block
with a perineural catheter was performed. Written informed consent
for publication was obtained from the patient.
Case Report
A 63-year old male, with obstructive sleep apnea and a hereditary
polyneuropathy diagnosed at the age of 36 was proposed for hip
arthroplasty. Due to long standing corticoid therapy, a bilateral aseptic
femur necrosis has developed, requiring multiple hip replacement
surgeries. Moreover, a lumbar spine surgery has also taken place some
years ago. At the time of surgery, the patient presented with signs of
skin infection in the lumbar surgical site. A combined general
anesthesia with an ultra-sound guided PENG block with a perineural
catheter was proposed to the patient and fully accepted. Te patient
was monitored with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
standards and invasive blood pressure.
Te regional block was performed in the supine position. A
curvilinear low-frequency (2-5 MHz) ultrasound probe was initially
placed in a transverse plane over the lef anterior inferior iliac spine
and then aligned with the pubic ramus by rotating the probe
counterclockwise approximately 45 degrees. In this view, with a 7.8 cm
depth, the iliopubic eminence, the iliopsoas muscle and tendon, the
femoral artery and pectineus muscle were observed (Figure 1). Local
skin anesthesia with 4 ml of 2% lidocaine was administered and an 18-
gauge 150 mm needle was inserted from lateral to medial in an in-
plane approach. During the block, the tip was placed between the
psoas tendon anteriorly and the pubic rami posteriorly, and following
negative aspiration 20 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine and 4 mg of
dexamethasone were injected (Figure 2).
Figure 1: Sonogram. 1-femoral artery; 2-pectineus muscle; 3-
femoral Nerve; 4-psoas muscle; 5-Psoas tendon.
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ISSN: 2155-6148
Journal of Anesthesia & Clinical
Research
Santos et al., J Anesth Clin Res 2019, 10:6
Case Report Open Access
J Anesth Clin Res, an open access journal
ISSN: 2155-6148
Volume 10 • Issue 6 • 1000898