To blunt or not to blunt: Still an outlawed practice in peripheral nerve blocks?

Abstract

Probably the first published account of regional nerve blocks was by Gaston Labat in 1922. Since the earlier experimentation, regional anesthesia has seen many ups and downs. The concept of field anesthesia popularized by the military anesthesiologists to be used in the battlefields, was quickly picked up by their colleagues working in the civil hospitals. The real breakthrough was brought about the invention of block needles to be used specifically for the peripheral nerve blocks, and proved to be safer than ordinary hypodermic syringe needles. The block needles, however, come at a higher price and the availability remains a constant problem, especially in the remote places of the low-income countries. The next revolution came with the advent of nerve stimulator and the ultrasound in the block techniques. Both of these developments really revolutionized the art of regional anesthesia. The authors describe a technique of use of blunted stylets of the ordinary intravenous cannulas. The technique can be used if resources are scarce, and with proper sterilization.

Key words: Cannula stylets; Blunting; Peripheral nerve blocks; Ultrasound-guided; COVID-19

Citation: Munasinghe BM, Subramaniam N. To blunt or not to blunt: Still an outlawed practice in peripheral nerve blocks? Anaesth. pain intensive care 2022;26(3):391-393. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v26i3.1913

Received: March 30, 2022; Reviewed: April 22, 2022; Accepted: May 05, 2022