Motor-Sparing Femoral Nerve Block Dose

Femoral nerve blocks are commonly used to provide pain control for total knee replacement, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Commonly employed local anesthetic concentrations result in motor block of the quadriceps and constitute an inherent risk factor for patient fall. The aim of this study is to determine the minimum effective concentration of bupivacaine in 90 % of patients (MEC90) required for a motor-sparing, successful sensory block of the femoral nerve.