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Ultrasound of femoral nerve: a gender comparison (536.9)
Author(s) -
Benninger Brion,
Abdulla Maha
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.536.9
Subject(s) - medicine , femoral nerve , inguinal ligament , femoral nerve block , ultrasound , nerve block , anatomy , anesthetic , surgery , radiology
Femoral nerve blocks are common procedures in peri‐operative and acute pain settings. Limited research has been conducted on the factors which lead to incomplete nerve block or inadequate analgesic effect in some individuals. The objective of this pilot study was to investigate point of nerve arborization in males and females as a factor in this variability, and determine whether a trend exists. METHODS: Literature search was conducted on anatomy texts, atlases, and journals regarding femoral nerve morphology and gender variability. Femoral nerves of live subjects (20F‐40sides:13M‐26sides) were visualized with ultrasound and measured from the inguinal ligament to point of bifurcation. RESULTS: Literature search revealed anomalous branching patterns and mapping of the femoral nerve. No comparison of morphological female to male discrepancies was found. Ultrasound imaging indicated an average difference of approximately 1cm between genders. Arborization in males was more distal to the inguinal ligament than females. CONCLUSIONS: Optimal placement of femoral nerve blocks is imperative and may need to be modified based on patient gender to achieve maximum anesthesia. Adjusting injection sites for male and female patients could avoid the need for higher anesthetic volumes and may reduce occurrence of incomplete blocks. This study reveals a gender difference of the femoral nerve morphology, which suggests a further study to formally develop standardized protocols for each gender.