RT Book, Section
A1 Iwata, Tagashige
A1 Catalano, Louis
A1 Vloka, Jerry D.
A2 Hadzic, Admir
SR Print(0)
ID 3501798
T1 Chapter 30. Digital Block
T2 NYSORA Textbook of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management
YR 2007
FD 2007
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071449069
LK accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=3501798
RD 2023/09/21
AB Strauss1  provided  the  first  description  of  the  digital  block  in  1889  for  the  condition  of  an  ingrown  toenail,  using  20%  cocaine  at  the  base  and  under  the  nail.  In  1905,  Braun  reported  the  synergistic  advantage  of  adding  epinephrine  to  local  anesthetics.2,3  However,  the  use  of  epinephrine  in  digital  block  anesthesia  has  been  avoided  due  to  the  theoretical  risk  of  ischemia  and  possible  gangrene.  More  recently,  however,  Wilhelmi  and  colleagues4  demonstrated  the  safety  and  efficacy  of  epinephrine-containing  local  anesthetic  for  digital  block,  which  made  its  use  only  more  controversial.  Digital  block  is  one  of  the  most  common  nerve  block  techniques,  frequently  used  in  the  emergency  department  and  primary  care  settings  for  various  procedures  such  as  lacerations  of  the  finger  or  toe,  nail  removal,  nail  bed  repair,  paronychia  drainage,  removal  of  foreign  bodies,  and  any  other  painful  procedures  on  digits.