• Michael J Buys, Christopher D Arndt, Firoz Vagh, Anna Hoard, and Neal Gerstein.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
• Anesth. Analg. 2010 Feb 1;110(2):635-7.

BackgroundWe hypothesized that blocking the tibial and common peroneal nerves individually using ultrasound distal to sciatic bifurcation would decrease time to complete block compared with a block proximal to the bifurcation.MethodsSeventy-six patients undergoing foot or ankle surgery received a sciatic nerve block either proximal or distal to the point of bifurcation. A mixture of 28 mL 1.5% mepivacaine with 100 microg clonidine and 1 mL 8.4% sodium bicarbonate for a total of 30 mL was used. Ultrasound was used to guide needle adjustments to achieve circumferential spread. Block success was defined as a loss of sensation to pinprick in both nerve distributions within 46 minutes.ResultsPatients in the tibial-peroneal group had significantly faster time to complete block than the sciatic group (19.2 vs 26.1 minutes; P = 0.006).ConclusionsBlocking the tibial and common peroneal nerves in the popliteal fossa separately provides for a faster onset than a prebifurcation sciatic block.

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