Analgesic evaluation of ultrasound-guided Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) block for emergency hip surgery in fragile patients: a case series

BACKGROUND: Emergency hip surgery is common especially in elderly patients. Very often we are faced with elderly and fragile patients with several comorbidities. In these cases a careful pain control is crucial to reduce length of stay, costs, postoperative complications and mortality. Currently the Fascia Iliaca Block (FIB) and the Femoral Nerve Block (FNB) are the main techniques used for this purpose. CASES PRESENTATION: Recently, a new method has been described under ultrasound-guidance, the Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) block. In this case series we try to point out the importance of this novel, safe and effective ultrasound-guided locoregional analgesic technique as an alternative to FIB or FNB based on our clinical experience. CONCLUSION: In this case series the PENG block has been proved to be safe and effective, but more and larger-sized studies are needed to better assess the method in future before it becomes an established analgesic technique for hip surgery.