Spinal anesthesia linked to higher painkiller use in hip fracture patients

For some surgeries, spinal anesthesia has been increasingly used instead of general anesthesia as a method to provide more comfort to patients and cut down on painkiller use. But research among hip fracture patients shows that this change may actually be having the reverse of its intended effect. The study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was published today in Annals of Internal Medicine.