Abstract

Background Timely and effective pain management is essential in the emergency department, particularly for patients with femoral fractures. Despite their potential benefits, femoral nerve blocks remain underutilized compared to intravenous opioid administration.

Methods This retrospective study evaluated patients with femoral fractures who received either femoral nerve blocks (Group 1) or standard Intravenous opioid treatment (Group 2). Pain reduction was assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale, and Intravenous opioid use was recorded.

Results Group 1 experienced a significantly greater reduction in pain scores (mean decrease of 4.96 vs. 3.99; p < 0.001). While the frequency of Intravenous opioid use was slightly lower in Group 1 (1.35 vs. 1.64; p = 0.063), the trend suggests a reduction in opioid reliance. The average time to additional opioid administration post-femoral nerve blocks was 6.49 hours.

Conclusions Femoral nerve blocks offer superior analgesia for femoral fractures and may reduce opioid use in the emergency departments, potentially easing the burden on emergency staff. Further studies are warranted to validate these findings.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

This study did not receive any funding

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Taichung Veterans General Hospital (No. CE22273B-1, 18 July 2024).

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Yes

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Yes

AbbreviationsNRSnumerical rating scaleIVOintravenous opioidERemergency departmentERSemergency room stay timeFNBfemoral nerve blocksPCIpain control interventionISSInjury Severity Score