[Present and Future of the Peripheral Nerve Block for Upper Extremities].

Abstract

Ultrasound guidance has become the standard tech- nique for brachial plexus block. Evidence has been accumulating that the ultrasound-guided brachial plex- us block can provide various advantages such as shorter block performance time, fewer needle passes, reduced incidence of vascular puncture, increased suc- cess rate, and rapid sensory block onset when compared with the conventional nerve localization tech- niques. Real-time ultrasound visualization during the procedure can reduce the amount of local anesthetics and the incidence of complications. Brachial plexus block has a strong analgesic effect with minimal effect on the cardiorespiratory and gastrointestinal systems. Therefore, ultrasound-guided brachial plexus block is a valuable regional anesthetic technique for upper ex- tremity surgery.