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REGIONAL ANESTHESIA

Signs of Inflammation After Sciatic Nerve Block in Pigs

Wolfgang G. Voelckel, MD^*, Günther Klima, MD, Anette C. Krismer, MD^*, Christopher Haslinger, BS^*, Karl H. Stadlbauer, MD^*, Volker Wenzel, MD^*, and Achim von Goedecke, MD^*

Departments of *Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and Histology, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Wolfgang Voelckel, MD, MSc, DEAA, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Address e-mail to wolfgang.voelckel{at}uibk.ac.at.

Nerve stimulators are widely used to assist with peripheral nerve blocks but do not eliminate the risk of nerve injury. We evaluated the histologic findings 6 h after sciatic nerve block with bupivacaine in pigs. When a motor response was still obtained with a current <0.2 mA (n = 10), the postmortem microscopic evaluation revealed lymphocytes and granulocytes sub-, peri-, and intraneurally in 5 (50%) of 10 pigs. No signs of inflammation were observed when the muscle contraction was achieved with a current between 0.3 and 0.5 mA (P = 0.03). In conclusion, the current required to elicit a motor response, the position of the needle tip, and the subsequent likelihood of nerve damage merit further evaluation.

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