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Background and Aims Continuous peripheral nerve blocks (CPNB) provide prolonged postoperative analgesia. However, there are concerns about the high reported rates of block failure and catheter dislodgement. We analyzed the efficacy and incidence of block failure and catheter dislodgement in our clinical practice.

Methods This retrospective study analyzed perioperative data up to the third postoperative day using electronic records of patients who received CPNB over a 7 months period in 2023. Data were collected and the following variables were analyzed: type of surgery, location of CPNB, details of insertion, sensory and motor block, opioid consumption, maximum Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score, timing of catheter removal, incidence of catheter dislodgement and side effects.

Results A total of 137 CPNB were inserted: 72% interscalene, 12% popliteal, 9% costoclavicular, 4% femoral and 3% supraclavicular. Insertion-related issues were reported in 12% of the cases: technical difficulties (7%), catheter replacement for accidental removal (4%) or inadequate local anesthetic spread (1%). Efficacy of CPNB is shown in table 1. The mean maximum NRS on days 0, 1, 2 and 3 were 1, 3, 2 and 3. Reported complications were: block failure and replacement (1%) and accidental dislodgement during the first 24 hours (4%). Side effects of interscalene catheters were: Horner syndrome (2%) and respiratory insufficiency (2%).

Conclusions CPNB was effective to prolong the analgesia up to 3 days, although the opioid sparing effect tended to decrease over time. The reported complications, side effects and accidental dislodgement were lower than previously reported.