AANA journal
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Inadequate pain relief after surgery may delay surgical recovery, decrease patient satisfaction, increase length of stay, raise the risk of hospital readmissions, and increase overall healthcare costs. One way to decrease postoperative pain for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery is through the use of peripheral nerve blocks. ⋯ A review of published studies using PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane search engines was performed using predefined data fields. Based on this literature review, recommendations for practice are provided.