Early Ultrasound-guided Nerve Block for Painful Hand Injuries in the Emergency Department
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2018-07-10
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This study aims to determine whether early initiation of temporary nerve block therapy
improves patient satisfaction, decreases patient pain and discomfort, decreases the use of
dangerous medications such as narcotics, and frees hospital resources. Hand injuries, such as
blast injuries from fireworks, can be very painful. In the emergency department, providers
generally use narcotic pain medications to control pain, but these have significant side
effects. It is possible that temporary nerve blocks, guided by ultrasound, can be safe and
useful in the emergency department. They have been shown to be effective in several studies
around the country. The goal of this study is to build on the experience of others to
increase the use of US-guided regional nerve blocks as a form of pain management in hand and
distal forearm injuries in the Harborview Medical Center (HMC) emergency department. By
working with a multidisciplinary team, the study investigators hope to use this technique to
decrease narcotic use and improve pain control, and to provide important data for Emergency
Medicine physicians elsewhere who are considering incorporating this nerve block technique
into their practice.