Comparison of ultrasound-guided and nerve stimulator-guided interscalene blocks as a sole anesthesia in shoulder arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: A retrospective study

Ultrasound-guided interscalene block (US-ISB) and nerve stimulator-guided interscalene block (NS-ISB) have both been commonly used for anesthesia in shoulder arthroscopic surgery. This study aims to compare which method provides surgical block as a sole anesthesia. In this retrospective study, 1158 patients who underwent shoulder arthroscopic rotator cuff tear repair surgery under ISB between October 2002 and March 2018 were classified into either the US-ISB or NS-ISB anesthesia groups. Demographic and anesthetic characteristics and intraoperative medications were analyzed after propensity score matching and compared between the 2 groups. There was a 0.5% rate of conversion to general anesthesia in the US-ISB group and a 6.7% rate in the NS-ISB group (P < .001). The volume of local anesthetics used for ISB was 29.7 ± 8.9 mL in the US-ISB group versus 38.1 ± 4.8 mL in the NS-ISB group (P < .001). The intraoperative use of analgesics and sedatives such as fentanyl, midazolam and propofol in combination was significantly lowered in the US-ISB group (P < .001). US-ISB is a more effective and safer approach for providing intense block to NS-ISB because it can decrease the incidence of conversion to general anesthesia and reduce the use of analgesics and sedatives during arthroscopic shoulder surgery.