[Perioperative Use of Ultrasound in Regional Anesthesia].

Abstract

The use of ultrasound in regional anaesthesia is increasingly establishing itself as the gold standard, as supported by the 2021 PERSEUS guideline on the perioperative use of ultrasound in regional anaesthesia. This guideline reviews the effectiveness, safety, and training requirements for ultrasound-guided anaesthesia techniques and provides recommendations for various block techniques as well as educational approaches for sonography-based methods. Studies show that the use of ultrasound generally increases success rates and reduces complications, particularly in performing upper and lower extremity blocks. However, there remains significant heterogeneity in the data, and clear recommendations are still lacking for many techniques, especially for truncal and neuraxial blocks. The guideline specifies quality indicators, though the data supporting these is occasionally unclear. For training and education, a structured model combining practical and theoretical knowledge is recommended. The authors of the guideline regard ultrasound as the standard in regional anaesthesia due to its visual safety advantages, although the application for some procedures is not yet fully evidence-based.