Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block and Tramadol for Analgesia in Hip Fracture

Hip fractures are a growing public health concern globally due to the aging population, with high incidence and significant mortality rates one year post-fracture. Effective pain management is critical to improving outcomes and accelerating recovery. Tramadol, a widely used intravenous analgesic, has dual opioid and non-opioid mechanisms but is associated with side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, and respiratory depression, necessitating careful monitoring in hip fracture patients.

The supra-inguinal fascia iliaca compartment block (SiFICB) offers a promising alternative, targeting key nerves to achieve effective analgesia through ultrasound-guided delivery of local anesthetics. SiFICB minimizes side effects and improves pain control by accurately blocking the femoral, lateral femoral cutaneous, and obturator nerves. While its postoperative benefits are well-documented, its efficacy in managing preoperative pain from hip fractures remains underexplored.

This study hypothesizes that ultrasound-guided SiFICB provides superior perioperative analgesia compared to intravenous tramadol. A prospective randomized controlled trial will evaluate the analgesic efficacy of SiFICB, using the numerical rating scale (NRS) to assess pain, aiming to improve the management of hip fracture-related pain and patient outcomes.