Abstract
The objective of this study was to estimate the psychological tolerance to inguinal block anesthesia using a standard stimulus. Subjects studied included 160 consecutive patients in whom an intervention was performed on the greater saphenous vein at the saphenofemoral junction. The ultimate goal was to identify the causes of intolerance to the anesthesia and to define precise contraindications. The setting was the Department of Angiology in the Clinique Saint Pierre in Dieppe.
Subjects studied were 160 consecutive patients operated on for saphenofemoral junction dysfunction. The study was done to define those who were tolerant and those who were intolerant of the local block anesthesia. A standard stimulus was applied with an electric stimulator. A determination of the tolerant and intolerant patients was done by a simplified form of the French version of the McGill Pain Institute questionnaire previously edited by F. Boureau.7
Of the 160 patients tested, 87% would choose the block anesthetic once again, and 13% regretted having accepted that form of anesthesia.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.