Ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...

-guided peripheral nerve block is a procedure used in

anesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...

that allows

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

imaging of the positions of the targeted

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

needle Needle may refer to: Crafting * Crochet needle, a tool for making loops in thread or yarn * Knitting needle, a tool for knitting, not as sharp as a sewing needle * Sewing needle, a long slender tool with a pointed tip * Trussing needle, a long sl ...

, and surrounding

vasculature The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

and other anatomic structures. This visual aid increases the success rate of the block and may reduce the risk of complications. It may also reduce the amount of

local anesthetic A local anesthetic (LA) is a medication that causes absence of pain sensation. In the context of surgery, a local anesthetic creates an absence of pain in a specific location of the body without a loss of consciousness, as opposed to a general an ...

required, while reducing the onset time of blocks. Ultrasound has also resulted in an exponential rise in fascial plane blocks {{Cite journal , last1=White , first1=Leigh , last2=Ji , first2=Antony , date=2022-03-03 , title=External oblique intercostal plane block for upper abdominal surgery: use in obese patients , url=https://www.bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(22)00078-2/abstract , journal=British Journal of Anaesthesia , language=English , doi=10.1016/j.bja.2022.02.011 , issn=0007-0912 , pmid=35249704, s2cid=247252383

References

Regional anesthesia