THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF THE HEMATOMA BLOCK FOR FRACTURE REDUCTION IN CLOSED, ISOLATED FRACTURES

Fracture manipulation in the emergency department often requires some method of anesthesia. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of the hematoma block in patients with closed, isolated fractures requiri ng manipulative reduction. Sixty-one patients treated with a hematoma block (HE group) prior to fracture manipulation were compared with 53 patients treated with either intravenous sedation or ''conscious sedat ion'' (NHB group). Using a pain analog scale, patients rated their pai n from 1 (no pain) to 10 (severe pain) both prior to and during fractu re manipulation. A pain differential score was calculated for each gro up. Results demonstrated pain differential scores of 2.7 and 0.8 for t he HE and NHB groups, respectively. There were no complications associ ated with any of the procedures. Based on these results, we conclude t hat the hematoma block is an effective and safe method of providing an esthesia for fracture reduction in select patients.