A systematic review of ultrasound‐guided methods for brachial plexus blockade

Summary We systematically reviewed 25 randomised controlled trials of ultrasound‐guided brachial plexus blockade that recruited 1948 participants: either one approach vs another (axillary, infraclavicular or supraclavicular); or one injection vs multiple injections. There were no differences in the rates of successful blockade with approach, relative risk (95% CI): axillary vs infraclavicular, 1.0 (1.0–1.1), p = 0.97; axillary vs supraclavicular, 1.0 (1.0–1.1), p = 0.68; and infraclavicular vs supraclavicular, 1.0 (1.0–1.1), p = 0.32. There was no difference in the rate of successful blockade with the number of injections, relative risk (95% CI) 1.0 (1.0–1.0), p = 0.69, for one vs multiple injections. The rate of procedural paraesthesia was less with one injection than multiple injections, relative risk (95% CI) 0.6 (0.4–0.9), p = 0.004. ☛ CPD available at http://www.learnataagbi.org