3. Complications of blocks and/or analgesic technique.
| Study | Complications related to regional anaesthesia | Complications related to analgesic technique |
| Altermatt 2013 | Not reported | Not reported |
| Antonopoulou 2006 | No complications such as motor block. local
haematoma or infection, inadvertent arterial puncture, direct nerve
damage and cardiovascular or neurological toxicity were observed Five participants had accidental removal or the catheter: 4 during the procedure or while the catheter was secured and 1 while in the ward |
Not reported |
| Beaudoin 2013 | No other adverse events were noted during the study period, and no other adverse events were reported to study investigators | Four‐hour oxygen saturation (%) 96 (93–99) vs (%) 98 (95–99) for regional blockade Adverse events: Hypotension, number (%) 3 (17) vs number (%) 0 (0) for regional blockade Respiratory depression, number (%) 9 (50) vs number (%) 4 (22) for regional blockade Nausea/vomiting, number (%) 5 (28) vs number (%) 5 (28) for regional blockade One participant had an episode of rapid atrial fibrillation requiring diltiazem, but the participant had a history of chronic atrial fibrillation |
| Chudinov 1999 | No major complications were described in group regional blockade. Three participants developed local erythema at the catheter insertion site at the end of the study period No signs of local anaesthetic toxicity were documented One participant developed bilateral blockade (L1‐L3 on the opposite side) |
Not reported |
| Coad 1991 | No complications related to nerve blocks and no case of prolonged motor blockade | Not reported |
| Cuvillon 2007 | Four catheters were prematurely removed: 1 by a confused participant, 2 by nurses (unexplained fever) and 1 by a surgeon (unconfirmed suspicion of local anaesthetic toxicity (ropivacaine blood level < 2 ng/mL)) | More constipation (47% vs 19% for regional blockade) |
| De La Tabla 2010 | Not reported | Not reported |
| Diakomi 2014 | Complications such as local anaesthetic toxicity recorded as well (none reported in results section) Nor did complication rates vary between groups |
Complications such as hypoventilation (breathing rate < 8 breaths/min) were recorded as well Moreover, the 2 groups did not differ in these parameters at any time point until study completion at 24 hours after surgery. Nor did complication rates vary between groups |
| Domac 2015 | Not reported | Not reported |
| Fletcher 2003 | Among study participants, none experienced adverse effects as a result of nerve block administration | No clinically important differences between groups with respect to pulse rate, oxygen saturation or respiratory rate at any time interval. Oxygen saturation 94.87% |
| Foss 2007 | No side effects attributable to femoral nerve block were noted in any participants during their hospital stay | More participants (P = 0.05) were sedated in the morphine group at 180 minutes after block placement No difference was noted between groups in nausea and vomiting, with 3 participants in each group having these side effects Tendency toward lower saturation was noted in the opioid group at 60 and 180 minutes after the block despite oxygen supplementation (P = 0.08) |
| Gille 2006 | One inadvertent arterial puncture and blood aspiration positive for 3 participants Two transient paraesthesias No catheter site infection Ten catheters accidentally removed |
No respiratory depression from systemic analgesia and no allergic reactions All complications were reversible |
| Godoy 2010 | The only complications were local bruises at the site of injection | Two participants with nausea, and 2 with nausea and vomiting |
| Graham 2008 | No immediate complications occurred in either group | No immediate complications were noted in either group |
| Haddad 1995 | No local or systemic complications of femoral nerve blocks were noted | Not reported |
| Hood 1991 | No untoward sequelae were associated with nerve blocks All plasma prilocaine concentrations (maximum 3 pg/mL) were below the suggested threshold for toxicity for prilocaine of 6 pg/mL |
Not reported |
| Iamaroon 2010 | No adverse systemic toxicity of bupivacaine, such as seizure, arrhythmia or cardiovascular collapse was noted in the femoral nerve block group Neither vascular puncture nor paraesthesia occurred No complications, such as haematoma, infection or persistent paraesthesia, were observed within 24 hours after the operation |
No participant in either group had hypoventilation (ventilatory rate < 10/min) or oxygen saturation < 95% |
| Jadon 2014 | Not reported | In participants of fentanyl group, drowsiness was observed that required the presence of more persons for holding the participant during positioning SpO2 was significantly lower in the fentanyl group (P = 0.001). However, no participant in either group had SpO2 < 90% during the procedure Mean arterial blood pressure was significantly lower in the fentanyl group (P = 0.0019) |
| Jones 1985 | No untoward sequelae associated with the nerve block were seen | Not reported |
| Kullenberg 2004 | No complications related to the nerve blockade were noted in this study | Not reported |
| Luger 2012 | Not reported | Not reported |
| Mossafa 2005 | Not reported | Not reported |
| Mouzopoulos 2009 | No complications of femoral nerve block administrations occurred, except 3 local haematomas developed at the injection site, which resolved spontaneously | Not reported |
| Murgue 2006 | Not reported | Not reported |
| Nie 2015 | No adverse effects, such as pain at the insertion site or paraesthesia, were observed No positive cultures were observed with the fascia iliaca block catheter tip, nor were any signs of infection noted in the current study |
Not reported |
| Segado Jimenez 2009 | We did not observe any complications in the realization of regional anaesthetic techniques during or subsequent to the regional anaesthetic techniques | The incidence of side effects (sleepiness, hypotension, constipation, pruritus) was greater in the group with no block than in groups with blocks (P < 0.01) |
| Spansberg 1996 | No haematomas at the site of femoral catheters | Two participants in each group experienced nausea and vomiting |
| Szucs 2012 | For 1 participant, the elastomeric pump failed, resulting in local anaesthetic administered over less than 54 hours instead of 72 hours, and another participant, suffering from acute confusional state, disconnected his pump after 12 hours | The incidence of nausea/vomiting, pruritus or excessive sedation was similar in the 2 groups |
| Tuncer 2003 | Not reported | Side effects (vomiting and pruritus) were observed significantly more frequently with intravenous analgesia |
| White 1980 | No participants showed any evidence of local anaesthetic toxicity | Not reported |
| Yun 2009 | No adverse systemic toxicity of ropivacaine was noted, and neither vascular puncture nor paraesthesia was elicited No complications, such as haematoma or persistent paraesthesia, were observed in participants with a femoral nerve block within 24 hours after the operation |
Hypoventilation (ventilatory rate 6–8/min) or pulse oximetric desaturation (oxygen saturation 88% or 89%) was encountered in 4 participants (20%) in the intravenous analgesia group. This was reverted with assisted manual mask ventilation All participants in the intravenous group experienced mild dizziness, and mild drowsiness was present in 12/20 of them |
%: percentage
L: litre
mg: milligram
min: minute
ng/mL: nanogram/millilitre
pg/mL: picogram/millilitre