Effect of fascia iliaca compartment block combined with ropivacaine on post-operative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effect of fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) in combination with ropivacaine on post-operative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture (HF) repair.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis included data of 111 elderly patients who underwent HF surgery with FICB in Changxing County People's Hospital from October 2018 to October 2022. Observation group received 0.25% ropivacaine combined with FICB (n=52), and the control group was administered an intravenous injection of parecoxib sodium (n=59). Baseline characteristics of the patients, and indexes such as mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores, were collected at one-, six-, 12- and 24-hours past surgery, both at rest and after passive movement.

RESULTS

VAS scores, MAP and HR at rest and after a passive movement in both groups were comparable before the surgery. VAS sores were significantly lower in the observation group at one-, six-, 12- and 24-hours after the surgery (P<0.05). Postoperative MAP in the observation group (80.83 ± 8.31) was significantly lower compared to the control group (95.29 ± 8.45 (t = -9.0659, p < 0.0001). Similarly, HR of the observation group was significantly lower one-hour post-surgery both at rest (t = -2.0468, p = 0.0431) and after passive movement (t = -6.0625, p < 0.001), and at all subsequent time intervals after the passive movement (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Ropivacaine combined with FICB was associated with improved post-operative outcomes such as lower post-surgery VAS scores, MAP and HR compared to the intravenous injection of parecoxib sodium.