UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Trauma

Title: Use of Serratus Anterior plane block for posterior rib fractures

Keywords: rib fracture, pain control, trauma, nerve block (PubMed Search)

Posted: 12/9/2022 by Robert Flint, MD (Emailed: 12/18/2022) (Updated: 4/24/2024)
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The use of a serratus anterior plane nerve block has previously been described as effective for anterior and lateral rib fracture pain control. A new, small study by Singh et al. shows efficacy in using this block for posterior rib fractures as well.

The reference link to the ACEPNow website shows how to perform this block using ultrasound guidance.

References

Efficacy of serratus anterior plane block in pain control in traumatic posterior rib fractures: A case series

Paramvir Singh pasingh@augusta.edu, Ashish Sakharpe https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5398-1963, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14604086211046779

Volume 24, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1177/14604086211046779

Ultrasound-Guided Serratus Anterior Plane Block Can Help Avoid Opioid Use for Patients with Rib Fractures

By Arun Nagdev, MD; Daniel Mantuani, MD, MPH; Edward Durant, MD; & Andrew Herring, MD | on March 14, 2017 |

https://www.acepnow.com/article/ultrasound-guided-serratus-anterior-plane-block-can-help-avoid-opioid-use-patients-rib-fractures/2/?singlepage=1