Is there any need for expanding the perineural space before catheter placement in continuous femoral nerve blocks?

Background And Objective: There is debate regarding the benefit of perineural space expansion before catheter placement in continuous femoral nerve block. This question is addressed in this prospective, comparative, and randomized study.

Methods: Sixty patients scheduled for total knee replacement were randomly assigned to receive continuous femoral nerve block with or without perineural space expansion using 10 mL dextrose 5% in water (D5W) flush before stimulation-guided catheter placement.