Effect of fascia iliaca compartment block combined with ropivacaine on post-operative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair.

Objective: To explore the effect of fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) in combination with ropivacaine on post-operative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture (HF) repair. Methods: Retrospective analysis included data of 111 elderly patients who underwent HF surgery with FICB in Changxing County People's Hospital from October 2018 to October 2022. Observation group received 0.25% ropivacaine combined with FICB (n=52), and the control group was administered an intravenous injection of parecoxib sodium (n=59). Baseline characteristics of the patients, and indexes such as mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores, were collected at one-, six-, 12- and 24-hours past surgery, both at rest and after passive movement. Results: VAS scores, MAP and HR at rest and after a passive movement in both groups were comparable before the surgery. VAS sores were significantly lower in the observation group at one-, six-, 12- and 24-hours after the surgery (P<0.05). Postoperative MAP in the observation group (80.83 ± 8.31) was significantly lower compared to the control group (95.29 ± 8.45 (t = -9.0659, p < 0.0001). Similarly, HR of the observation group was significantly lower one-hour post-surgery both at rest (t = -2.0468, p = 0.0431) and after passive movement (t = -6.0625, p < 0.001), and at all subsequent time intervals after the passive movement (P<0.05). Conclusions: Ropivacaine combined with FICB was associated with improved post-operative outcomes such as lower post-surgery VAS scores, MAP and HR compared to the intravenous injection of parecoxib sodium.