Femoral nerve block with propofol sedation versus general anesthesia in patients with severe cardiac dysfunction undergoing autologous myoblast sheet transplantation

Purpose Regional anesthesia is more favorable than general anesthesia in patients with severe comorbidity; however, data on the superiority of peripheral nerve blocks over general anesthesia in patients with severe cardiac dysfunction are lacking. We aimed to demonstrate that peripheral nerve blocks reduce perioperative analgesic requirements and promote faster recovery compared to general anesthesia. Methods We retrospectively evaluated intraoperative blood pressure, perioperative medications, and postoperative recovery in patients who underwent skeletal muscle harvesting for autologous myoblast sheet transplantation. We compared patients who received general anesthesia (group G, n = 27) to those who received femoral nerve block with propofol sedation (group B, n = 22). Results Left ventricular ejection fraction was 24% on average, with no significant difference between groups. Compared with group G, a lower dose of propofol was used intraoperatively (1.25 versus 2.0 µg/mL, respectively; P < 0.001) and fewer patients required opioids (13.6 versus 100%, P < 0.01) in group B. Additionally, the lowest intraoperative mean blood pressure was higher (54 versus 48 mmHg, respectively; P = 0.02) in group B. More patients received postoperative analgesic drugs (51.9 versus 13.6%, P = 0.01) and they received them more frequently (1 [0–3] versus 0 [0–1], P = 0.02) in group G. The length of heart care unit stay was shorter in group B than group G (0 [0–18.5] versus 17 [0–47] h, respectively; P < 0.0001). Conclusions Femoral nerve block with sedation was more beneficial than general anesthesia in patients with severe cardiac dysfunction who underwent skeletal muscle harvesting for autologous myoblast sheet transplantation.