Would you want a friend or loved one to be in pain while waiting for a room to open up in your already overcrowded emergency department? This session covers some techniques to relieve pain for patients in this situation.

Danielle D. Campagne, MD, FACEP

Whether you use blocks all the time or have yet to incorporate them, you’ll learn something new at “Bone Chillin’! Orthopedic Reductions and Regional Blocks” presented by Danielle D. Campagne, MD, FACEP, vice chief of emergency medicine and associate professor of clinical emergency medicine at the University of California, Fresno.

“There are so many ways to reduce pain and anxiety in the emergency department,” said Dr. Campagne. “We can do so much for fractures, dislocations, and orthopedic problems without using conscious sedation. Regional blocks, local blocks, hematoma blocks, intra-articular blocks, and more are terrific options.”

Consider this: You’re treating an elderly person with a hip fracture. You don’t want to use opioids for pain control, but you have to do something—it could be a day or more before they get to an operating room because of cardiac clearance, overcrowding, etc. “You can help immediately with a femoral nerve or fascia iliaca compartment block. I’ll show you how to do them either ultrasound guided or blind, and list the pros and cons. I’ll also present the research that’s out in the literature showing the benefits of both,” Dr. Campagne said.

“Three years ago it would have been easy to get a room in the ED and a nurse, and sedate a patient,” she said. “You can do a block in the hallway—you don’t have to wait for a room to block the pain.”

Amy E. Hamaker is a Canyon Country, California-based freelance writer.