Superior Cluneal Nerve Block for Treatment of Buttock Abscesses in the Emergency Department

Herring, Andrew; Price, Dan D.; Nagdev, Arun; Simon, Barry

doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2009.08.033

« Previous Next »The Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume 39, Issue 1 , Pages 83-85, July 2010

Superior Cluneal Nerve Block for Treatment of Buttock Abscesses in the Emergency Department

Andrew Herring, MD
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Highland General Hospital, Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland, California
- Reprint Address: Andrew A. Herring, md, Department of Emergency Medicine, Highland General Hospital, Alameda Medical Center, 1411 East 31^st Street, Oakland, CA 94062
Dan D. Price, MD
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Highland General Hospital, Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland, California
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Arun Nagdev, MD
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Highland General Hospital, Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland, California
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Barry Simon, MD
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Highland General Hospital, Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland, California
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Received 16 June 2009; received in revised form 11 August 2009; accepted 30 August 2009. published online 18 November 2009.

Abstract

Background: The buttock is a common location for cutaneous abscesses among patients presenting for emergency department care. Procedural pain management sufficient to permit adequate incision and drainage often requires moderate sedation or general anesthesia. Discussion: We describe a patient with a buttock abscess who successfully underwent incision and drainage with a regional superior cluneal nerve blockade instead of moderate sedation. Conclusions: Our experience suggests that superior cluneal nerve blockade may reduce the need for procedural sedation, expedite care, and reduce costs for some patients presenting with buttock abscesses.

Keywords: superior cluneal nerve, regional anesthesia, nerve block, cutaneous abscess, emergency services