Naya

Why Continuous Peripheral Nerve Block Catheters Are Becoming a Cornerstone of Modern Recovery Pathways

Continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) catheters are moving from “nice-to-have” to foundational in modern perioperative pathways because they solve a persistent tension: how to deliver high-quality analgesia while reducing reliance on systemic opioids. By maintaining targeted local anesthetic delivery at the nerve level, teams can extend the benefits of regional anesthesia well beyond the operating room, supporting earlier mobilization, improved participation in rehabilitation, and a more predictable patient experience-especially in orthopedics, trauma, and major ambulatory procedures.

What’s making CPNB a trending conversation now is not novelty, but operational maturity. Programs are pairing catheters with standardized placement techniques, clearer selection criteria, and tighter post-discharge follow-up, making outpatient CPNB a realistic option at scale. At the same time, device and workflow innovations-such as more secure catheter fixation, user-friendly ambulatory pumps, and streamlined documentation-are reducing failure points that previously limited adoption. The result is a shift from individual clinician preference to system-level design.

For decision-makers, the opportunity is to treat CPNB as a clinical service line rather than a single procedure. Success depends on aligning anesthesia, surgery, nursing, pharmacy, and physical therapy around shared protocols: dosing and rescue plans, leak or dislodgement troubleshooting, infection precautions, motor-sparing strategies to reduce fall risk, and a reliable patient education and call-back model. When these elements are engineered end-to-end, CPNB catheters become a scalable lever for better recovery, smoother throughput, and more resilient pain management strategies.