Clinical guideline for the use of peripheral nerve block in hip fractures at the emergency department in Belgium

Abstract

Peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) for hip fractures are standard of care in many countries at the emergency department and sometimes even in the prehospital setting. This type of analgesic care is however not standard in Belgium. The structural implementation of PNBs at the emergency department depends on the availability of personnel trained in regional anesthesia and a correct informed consent. Given the professionalization of emergency medicine in Belgium since 2005, anesthesiologists have become less involved in most emergency departments. This might cause a potential lack of personnel trained in regional anesthesia. In this article the authors propose a practical guideline with a decision tree to guide better analgesic care for patients with hip fractures in Belgium.