Effective pain therapy after shoulder surgery is the main prerequisite for safe management in an ambulatory setting. We evaluated adverse events and hospital re-admission using a database of 509 interscalene catheters inserted during ambulatory shoulder surgery. Adverse events were recorded for 34 (6.7%) patients (9 (1.8%) catheter dislocations diagnosed in the recovery room, 9 (1.8%) catheter dislocations at home with pain, 2 (0.4%) pain without catheter dislocation, 1 (0.2%) 'secondary' pneumothorax without intervention and 13 (2.6%) other). Twelve (2.4%) patients were re-admitted to hospital (8 (1.6%) for pain, 2 (0.4%) for dyspnoea and 2 (0.4%) for nausea and vomiting), 9 of whom had rotator cuff repair. A well-organised infrastructure, optimally trained medical professionals and appropriate patient selection are the main prerequisites for the safe, effective implementation of ambulatory interscalene catheters in routine clinical practice.
© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.