PENG block provides better analgesia than FICB in hip fractures analgesia

PENG block provides better analgesia than FICB in hip fractures analgesia, finds an OTSR study. Fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) is a common regional analgesic strategy in hip fracture surgery but, recently it has been suggested that FICB may not provide enough analgesia. Pericapsular nerve group block (PENG) is a novel method for hip analgesia which its efficacy is not well established yet.

F.Mosaffa, M. Taheri, A.Manafi Rasi et al. conducted a study to document the effect of the PENG block in the control of the hip fracture pain as well as to compare the effectiveness of the PENG compared with FICB.

This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in a hospital in Iran. Hip fracture patients were randomly divided into two groups; Group A (n = 22) received FICB and Group B (n = 30) received PENG block.

Results:

• There was no significant difference in age (p = 0.75), sex (p = 0.96), weight (p = 0.053), type of fractures (p = 0.94) and surgical methods (p = 0.94) between the two groups.

• There was no significant difference between VAS score before blocks procedure between two groups (p = 0.37).

• After 15 minutes of blocks and after 12 hours of post-surgery, VAS score significantly reduced in the PENG block group compared with the FICB group (p = 0.031; p = 0.021, respectively).

• The first time of the analgesic consumption after surgery was significantly longer in the PENG block compared with the FCIB (p = 0.007).

• Compared with the FICB group, the total dose of morphine consumption during 24 hours significantly reduced in the PENG block (p = 0.008).

The authors concluded that - PENG block is a good method in hip fractures analgesia and provides better analgesia than FICB. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to validate the efficacy and superiority of the PENG blocks over conventional techniques.

Further reading:

Comparison of pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block with fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) for pain control in hip fractures: A double-blind prospective randomized controlled clinical trial

Faramarz Mosaffa, Mehrdad Taheri, Alireza Manafi Rasi, Hamidreza Samadpour, Elham Memarya, Alireza Mirkheshti.

Orthopaedics & Traumatology: Surgery & Research 108 (2022) 103135

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.otsr.2021.103135