AGEM Author Spotlight

Published Work by AGEM Members

May 2026 AGEM Author Spotlight: Alex Finch, MD

Does Point-of-Care Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Block for Geriatric Hip Fracture Analgesia in the Emergency Department Improve Outcomes?

Summary

Hip fractures are a common and high consequence injury among older adults presenting to the emergency department (ED). Multidisciplinary care is needed for effective care of older adults with hip fractures, with a focus on anticipatory attention to complications such as delirium and to develop strategies for early, multimodal pain control. This evidence-based review examines whether regional anesthesia techniques including femoral nerve blocks, pericapsular nerve group blocks, and fascia iliaca compartment blocks, performed using point-of-care ultrasound, are safe and effective in the ED environment. The review provides an appraisal of three manuscripts evaluating the impact of nerve blocks on opioid requirements, hospital length of stay, and pain scores, among other outcomes. The feasibility of emergency physicians safely providing nerve blocks was also reviewed. These findings highlight an opportunity to develop new strategies in the ED to provide multimodal analgesia with a goal of reducing complications in geriatric ED patients. If you want to learn more about our group's critical appraisal of this body of research, potential implementation barriers and research gaps, and 'Bottom Line' see here.

Bio

Alex Finch, MD, serves as the Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and as an Associate Program Director for the Emergency Medicine Residency. He completed EM residency training at Mayo Clinic, where he also served as chief resident. Dr. Finch's academic interests include resuscitation science, including ECMO and cardiac arrest, evidence-based medicine, and simulation-based education. He also has a strong interest in improving the care of older adults in the ED, with a focus on evidence-based approaches that improve outcomes and reduce complications.