2014 OTA Annual Meeting: Continuous Popliteal Sciatic Nerve Block for Ankle Fractures Reduces Postoperative Opioid Requirements and Rebound Pain: A Prospective Randomized Comparative Trial

50 patients scheduled to undergo operative fixation of ankle fractures were randomly allocated to receive popliteal sciatic nerve block either through a single injection or a continuous infusion. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether continuous anesthetic infusion or single injection would reduce rebound pain (reoccurring pain between 12 to 24 hours postoperatively) and narcotic usage following operative fixation of an ankle fracture. Results revealed that the use of continuous infusion offered a significant decrease in rebound pain compared to single injection at 12 hours after surgery. Over the first 72 postoperative hours, the need for narcotic pain killers were significantly reduced in patients who received continuous infusion.