AXILLARY BLOCK

Course overview

THE AXILLARY APPROACH TO THE BRACHIAL PLEXUS NERVE BLOCK WAS FIRST DESCRIBED BY DR. HALSTEAD ET AL. IN 1884. BEFORE THE PREVALENCE OF ULTRASOUND, THIS APPROACH WAS USEFUL FOR PATIENTS UNDERGOING OUTPATIENT HAND SURGERY DUE TO THE SUPERFICIAL LOCATION AND LOW RISK OF COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS PNEUMOTHORAX. ITS SUPERFICIAL LOCATION ALLOWS FOR EASIER IDENTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL NERVE BRANCHES WITH A NERVE STIMULATOR OR WITH ULTRASOUND TECHNIQUES. OF NOTE, CONTRARY TO ITS NAME, THIS BLOCK DOES NOT BLOCK THE AXILLARY NERVE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH THE RELATIVELY NEWER AXILLARY NERVE BLOCK. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE INDICATIONS AND METHODOLOGY FOR PERFORMING AN AXILLARY BLOCK AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS REQUIRING REGIONAL ANESTHESIA.