Respiratory effect of interscalene brachial plexus block vs combined infraclavicular plexus block with suprascapular nerve block for arthroscopic shoulder surgery

Shoulder surgery typically results in moderate to severe postoperative pain, especially within the first 24h after surgery. The interscalene nerve block (ISB) is one of the most effective analgesic techniques for shoulder surgery. A common adverse effect after ISB remains the occurrence of ipsilateral phrenic nerve block. In the literature [1] diaphragm-sparing nerve blocks alternative to ISB for shoulder surgery, such as supraclavicular block, distal nerve blocks, intraarticular analgesia, has been reported; recently [2] a new combination of suprascapular nerve block (SSB) and infraclavicular block (ICB) seemed to provide surgical anesthesia and satisfactory postoperative analgesia, but, the respiratory effects of this technique are still not well documented.

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