Regional anesthesia outside the operating room: indications and techniques

Purpose of review Regional anesthesia is not only performed in the operating room. There are indications for the use of these techniques for pain relief in the emergency department and for anesthesia support of procedures outside the operating room. In this review, we will provide an overview of the indications for the regional techniques performed in the out-of-operating room environment. Recent findings In the emergency department, patients may experience significant pain, and adequate analgesia is not always provided. Regional analgesia is effective and indicated for many trauma situations including hip fracture, reduction of shoulder dislocation, treatment of upper limb fractures and multiple rib fractures. Ultrasound guidance makes the performance of regional blocks more accessible and safer for use in the emergency department setting. For therapeutic procedures outside the operating room, regional anesthesia is possible for uterine artery embolization and for postoperative analgesia after implantation of cervical brachytherapy needles. Summary Regional anesthesia is a valuable option for analgesia in trauma patients, enabling improved pain control in the emergency department and has benefits in the anesthetic management of therapeutic procedures outside the operating room. For many blocks, ultrasound guidance is useful.