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ments, opioid-related side
effects and sleep disturbances,
thus decreasing required nursing interventions. In addition,
time until discharge may be
decreased with ambulatory
infusion, reducing facility and
personnel costs, freeing additional post-op beds and permitting an increased surgical volume.
Providing analgesia is the primary indication for post-operative CPNB, and most CPNB
benefits appear to hinge on
successfully improving pain
control. Potent analgesia is
most dramatic for surgical
sites that are completely innervated by nerves affected by the
perineural infusion, as is often
the case for shoulder and foot
procedures (interscalene and
sciatic perineural catheters,
respectively).
Drawbacks include
increased expense (if paying
out-of-pocket), additional
equipment to carry (infusion