title: Signs of inflammation after sciatic nerve block in pigs.
abstract: Nerve stimulators are widely used to assist with peripheral nerve blocks but do not eliminate the risk of nerve injury. We evaluated the histologic findings 6 h after sciatic nerve block with bupivacaine in pigs. When a motor response was still obtained with a current <0.2 mA (n = 10), the postmortem microscopic evaluation revealed lymphocytes and granulocytes sub-, peri-, and intraneurally in 5 (50%) of 10 pigs. No signs of inflammation were observed when the muscle contraction was achieved with a current between 0.3 and 0.5 mA (P = 0.03). In conclusion, the current required to elicit a motor response, the position of the needle tip, and the subsequent likelihood of nerve damage merit further evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Departments of *Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and †Histology, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria.
authors.forename: Wolfgang G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Voelckel
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klima
authors.forename: Anette C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Krismer
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haslinger
authors.forename: Karl H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Stadlbauer
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wenzel
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Goedecke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology*; D009407:Nerve Block; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D013552:Swine