50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting

Challenges with peripheral nerve block catheters

Overcoming barriers to improve effectiveness

Kai H.W. Lange, Christian Rothe, Martin Wraber, Jakob Schlünsen, Tore V.C. Allerup

INTRO

●Peripheral nerve block catheters have unacceptably high failure rates preventing clinical adoption.

●Other barriers need to be identified, analyzed, and overcome.

●Secondary displacement is a key problem, but not the only one.

ANALYSIS

●The following barriers were identified

○Time on task too long

○High skill level required

○Sterile draping needed

○Ultrasound guidance and hydrodissection not possible throughout procedure

○Initial placement not precise

○Secondary dislocation rate too high

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

●As simple as a single injection nerve block

●Time on task < 5 min

●Preassembled system

●Single-hand operation

●No sterile draping

●Ultrasound guidance and hydrodissection possible throughout the procedure

●Feature preventing secondary dislocation

CONCLUSION

●Peripheral nerve block catheters need to be redesigned to overcome the barriers preventing clinical adoption

CHALLENGES WITH PERIPHERAL NERVE CATHETERS: OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS