Infraclavicular brachial plexus block in hand and forearm surgery has the advantages of high success rate and low risk of complications and is useful in providing long-lasting and effective postoperative analgesia in these patients. In response to hypoxemia at high altitude, increased blood viscosity, decreased carbon monoxide diffusion capacity, increased cerebral arterial blood flow, decreased blood volume and decreased cardiac output occur. At high altitude, the serum level of local anesthetics may increase due to an increase in their ionized fraction and a decrease in their clearance. In this respect, the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of peripheral nerve blocks may be altered when performed at high altitude. The primary objective of this prospective study was to test the hypothesis that postoperative pain scores are higher in patients undergoing infraclavicular nerve block at high altitude than in patients at low altitude. This multicenter prospective randomized study will be initiated after approval of the Ethics Committee of Health ScienceUniversity Diyarbakir Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital. Patients will be recruited simultaneously in 3 hospitals, Hatay Training and Research Hospital, Hatay, Turkey (100 m above sea level);Health Science Health Science University Diyarbakir Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey (675 m above sea level) and Health Science University Van Regional and Training Research Hospital, Van, Turkey (1726 m above sea level). Infraclavicular brachial plexus blocks (coracoid approach) will be performed by administering a local anesthetic mixture of 1.5 mg/kg lidocaine 2% + 1 mg/kg bupivacaine 0.5% at the 6 o'clock position of the axillary artery under US guidance.
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Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Timeframe: will be evaluated at 0, 4th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 24th hours postoperatively