Abstract
Background: Femoral trauma in the UK is increasing. The fascia iliaca
compartment block (FICB) could be a more effective, safer way to ease pain
and distress from femoral trauma in the prehospital environment than the
current practice of intravenous morphine. Aim: To conduct a systematic review
to accumulate evidence concerning prehospital FICB for patients with femoral
fracture. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using the CINAHL,
Medline, AMED, PubMed and Embase databases. In addition, a hand search of
the Journal of Paramedic Practice and the Australasian Journal of Paramedicine
was performed. The search was carried out from 28 March–24 April 2018.
Results: Twenty-eight papers were sourced by the methodology, of which
four met the inclusion criteria and were subsequently analysed. Conclusion:
This review shows that prehospital FICB can be efficacious in a number of
prehospital environments and is feasible for a variety of patients with a range
of femoral fractures. Additionally, FICB has limited reported adverse side effects
in the prehospital environment and would appear to be safe. However, evidence
comparing the efficacy of a prehospital FICB to intravenous morphine use for
pain management in femoral fractures is limited. This review indicates that more
research in this area would be beneficial.