LAUSR

Delirium is one of the most frequent complications during hospitalization in elderly patients with a hip fracture. The correlation between this complication and the efficacy of pain relief is demonstrated also in cognitively intact patients [1]. The pain level is frequently underestimated and the likelihood of an ineffective pain management is more pronounced in regional hospitals with overcrowded emergency departments [2]. This situation is similar to what is happening in our hospital. In settings where a long waiting time for hip fracture surgery may occur, the introduction of an effective and long lasting alternative for analgesia is imperative. The fascia iliaca compartment block is a better alternative to 3-in-1 block in hip fracture patients and can be easily performed in the emergency department (ED) [3].The idea of introducing the ultrasound guided fascia iliaca compartment block (US-FICB) as a standard pain management approach for hip fracture patients in the ED followed the acquisition of a new ultrasound device by our department, which eased the learning curve of US-guided FICB for emergency physicians. The efficacy of ultrasound-guided fascia iliaca block (US-FICB) as an adjunct to opioid analgesia was demonstrated by Beaudoin et al., emphasizing the significant reduction of pain and the decreased requirement for rescue analgesia without any significant side effects [4]. Reduction of the risk of developing delirium by providing effective analgesia is more evident in intermediate risk patients than in high risk ones [5]. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21454/rjaic.7518.242.ber