AnethesiologyNews.com
Theresa Bowling MD, Wesley Knauft MD, Nishant Shah MD, Sanja Sinha MD
The use of ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA) has dramatically increased in recent years, facilitated by the widespread availability of small portable ultrasound machines with high-resolution imaging. Numerous studies have shown that UGRA is the most effective technique to achieve the central requirement for safe, successful regional anesthesia blocks—namely, ensuring the optimal distribution of local anesthetic around the target nerves and minimizing the risk for injury to surrounding structures. Drs. Bowling, Knauft, Shah, and Sinha describe the benefits, techniques, and challenges of implementing an UGRA protocol for anesthesiologists.