Fisher BM, et al. - In view of the difficulties experienced in balancing pain control and acute delirium in geriatric patients following operative repair of proximal femur fractures, researchers examined the efficacy of local anesthetic infiltration (LAI) into the soft tissues surrounding the surgical field in reducing narcotic use or pain scores in patients undergoing surgical management of proximal and diaphyseal femur fractures. Using the electronic record, they assessed data of 477 patients with femur fracture; of these 358 did not receive LAI and 119 patients received LAI. Relative to patients who did not receive LAI, those receiving LAI required significantly fewer opioids with equal pain scores for the first 28 hours after surgery. Outcomes support the safety and efficacy of local anesthetic injection as a means to reduce narcotic utilization in the immediate post-operative period.