How Might Ultrasound Guided Regional Anesthesia (UGRA) Provide Better Analgesic Care Compared to Opioids in Both Hospital, And Remote Environments

As medical technology continues to evolve and becomes more portable, frontline austere medical practitioners can more safely diagnose, identify, and treat life-threatening emergencies more accurately. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has rapidly become an adjunct of care in prehospital, emergency department, intensive care, and primary care settings and with a general understanding of sonoanatomy, clinicians can identify, safely diagnose medical emergencies, and conduct an array of procedures with ultrasound devices now small enough to fit inside a pocket.1 One of such procedures, is the use of ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA) to manage acute pain. With near instantaneous pain relief and taught to providers in a relatively short amount of time; traumatic injuries, surgical procedures, and even some chronic issues can be treated without impeding a patient’s level of consciousness. What was once considered a rather esoteric procedure can have a significant impact with hospital and international medical providers where access to opioids may be difficult to obtain and the risk of their effects can be too unpredictable. Unfortunately, lack of intra-departmental collaboration, standardized training, and peer reviewed literature remain significant issues for the future of UGRA and more research remains needed