Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A trainee-based randomized comparison of stimulating interscalene perineural catheters with a new technique using ultrasound guidance alone.
Compared to the well-established stimulating catheter technique, the use of ultrasound guidance alone for interscalene perineural catheter insertion is a recent development and has not yet been examined in a randomized fashion. We hypothesized that an ultrasound-guided technique would require less time and produce equivalent results compared to electrical stimulation (ES) when trainees attempt interscalene perineural catheter placement. ⋯ Trainees using a new ultrasound-guided technique can place inter-scalene perineural catheters in less time compared to a well-documented technique using ES with a stimulating catheter and can produce equivalent results.