EFFICACY OF ULTRA SOUND GUIDED POPLITEAL SCIATIC NERVE BLOCK AND DISTAL SCIATIC BIFURCATION NERVE BLOCK IN PROVIDING ANASTHESIA FOR BELOW KNEE SURGERIES

Abstract

Background: For efficient anesthetic and postoperative analgesia, peripheral nerve blocks are routinely utilized in lower limb procedures. One such method for below knee surgeries is the popliteal sciatic nerve block. Aim: To compare the efficacy of popliteal sciatic nerve block and distal sciatic bifurcation nerve block in terms of onset of sensory and motor blockade, as well as the duration of analgesia in patients undergoing below-knee surgeries. Materials and Methods: 72 patients undergoing below-knee procedures were enrolled in this randomized controlled experiment. They were divided into two groups, Group A receiving a popliteal sciatic nerve block and Group B receiving a distal sciatic bifurcation nerve block, both of which used 30 milliliters of 0.5% Bupivacaine. The duration of analgesia, the need for rescue analgesia, and postoperative pain levels using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were the secondary goals, whereas the key outcomes were the time at which sensory and motor blocking began. SPSS v26.0 was used for the statistical analysis, and p<0.05 was chosen as the significance level. Results: “Group A experienced the onset of sensory block significantly faster, averaging 15.5 minutes, compared to 18.1 minutes in Group B (p<0.05). Although the initiation of motor block in Group A occurred 23 minutes earlier than in Group B, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05). The duration of pain relief and the requirement for additional analgesia were comparable between the two groups (p>0.05). However, two hours postoperatively, Group A reported a significantly lower average Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score than Group B (p<0.05).” Conclusion: Popliteal sciatic nerve block provides a faster onset of sensory blockade and xix better postoperative pain control compared to distal sciatic bifurcation nerve block, while both techniques offer overall comparable analgesic efficacy