"Eyeball test" of thermographic patterns for predicting a successful lateral infraclavicular block.

Purpose: Increased distal skin temperature can be used to predict the success of lateral infraclavicular (LIC) block. We hypothesized that an "eyeball test" of specific infrared thermographic patterns after LIC block could be used to determine block success.

Methods: In this observational study, five observers trained in four distinct thermographic patterns independently evaluated thermographic images of the hands of 40 patients at baseline and at one-minute intervals for 30 min after a LIC block.