Ultrasound Guided Femoral Nerve Blocks for Hip Fractures

Hip fractures have significant morbidity in the elderly. Pain can be difficult to control and providers have to balance analgesia with risk of side effects of sedating opioid medications. Ultrasound, which allows direct visualization of the nerve and surrounding vessels, has made regional anesthesia feasible for non-anesthesiologists. There have been multiple studies showing good pain control in these patients from regional anesthesia such as the femoral nerve block. This study takes it one step further (pun intended) to look at functional outcomes in these patients (in addition to pain control and side effects).