BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) commonly evolves with intense ischemic pain in the lower limbs, which is hard to control with systemic analgesics, and continuous regional anesthesia may be an alternative, with adequate analgesia and lower incidence of side effects.
OBJECTIVES: evaluate qualitative and quantitative pain control, incidence of adverse effects and operative results in patients with PAOD undergoing continuous anesthetic blockade of the sciatic nerve by perineural catheter compared to systemic analgesia based on opioids and adjuvant medications.
METHODS: It is a randomized clinical trial, covered for evaluators. It will include 56 patients with PAOD Fontaine IV, with pain by the presence of ulcerations located on foot. A group will be submitted to continuous regional anesthesia of sciatic nerve through perineural catheter and another group will have its pain control through patient controlled analgesia device with intravenous fentanyl. The primary dependent variable will be pain, through the numerical pain scale.
