Neuraxial ultrasound might improve the efficacy of spinal anaesthesia but this has not been tested for the paramedian approach in the elderly.

The current study aims to assess whether the ultrasound-assisted paramedian technique can decrease the number of needle passes required for success compared with the landmark-guided paramedian technique in the elderly.

Randomised controlled study.

Single-institution, tertiary-level hospital in Seoul, Republic of Korea from October 2017 to January 2018.

Eighty patients aged at least 60 years undergoing orthopaedic surgery.

All received paramedian spinal anaesthesia by either the landmark-guided or preprocedural ultrasound-assisted technique.

The number of needle passes required for successful dural puncture.

The number of needle passes (median [interquartile range]) was significantly lower (1.0 [1.0 to 2.0] vs. 4.5 [2.0 to 7.0]) and the success rate at first pass significantly higher at 65.0 vs. 17.5% in the ultrasound compared with the landmark group (both P < 0.001). The ultrasound-assisted technique required a longer time for establishing landmarks (117.5 s [85.5 to 150.7 s] vs. 17.5 s [14.0 to 23.0 s]) and for total procedure (181.5 s [133.5 to 212.5 s] vs. 92.5 s [62.5 to 176.5 s]) but a shorter time for administering spinal anaesthesia (39.5 s [31.5 to 71.3 s] vs. 77.0 s [45.8 to 136.5 s]; all, P < 0.001) than the palpation-guided technique. The ultrasound group showed lower periprocedural pain scores (3 [2 to 4] vs. 4 [4 to 6]; P = 0.009) and discomfort scores (2 [0 to 3] vs. 5 [2 to 6]; P = 0.003) than the landmark group.

Compared with the landmark-guided paramedian technique, the ultrasound-assisted paramedian technique decreases the number of needle manipulations and periprocedural pain and discomfort scores in the elderly. Our results suggest that neuraxial ultrasonography facilitates the performance of spinal anaesthesia in the elderly.

NCT03316352.