Abstract
Background
Patellar dislocation is an orthopedic emergency and its reduction can be painful.
The aim of this case is to show that the ultrasound-guided femoral nerve blockage
can be effectively used in the pain management of patellar reduction in the emergency
department (ED).
Case Report
A 21-year-old man was admitted to our ED after suffering a fall down a flight of stairs.
The initial physical examination and plain radiography showed a patellar dislocation
in the right knee. We performed an ultrasound-guided femoral nerve blockage to provide
a pain-free and comfortable patellar reduction. To our best knowledge, there is no
manuscript except an old case series about use of the ultrasound-guided femoral nerve
blockage in the management of patellar reduction in the medical literature. Procedural
sedation is the preferred method used for this purpose in ED, but these medications
need to be closely monitored because of their potential complications, such as nausea,
vomiting, allergic reactions, and respiratory depression.
Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?
Ultrasound-guided femoral nerve blockage gave rapid and effective pain control without
any complication during the reduction in this patient. Therefore, we suggest this
technique be used for pain management during the reduction of a dislocated patella
in the ED.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 19, 2017
Accepted:
January 4,
2017
Received in revised form:
December 25,
2016
Received:
October 21,
2016
Footnotes
Reprints are not available from the authors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
