When Left Is Right and Right Is Wrong: A Case Report of Two Near-Miss Wrong-Sided Peripheral Nerve Blocks

Abstract

Wrong-sided peripheral nerve blocks occur with a surprisingly high frequency despite being described as a “never event.” Timeout procedures are performed and documented, yet timeout omission is rarely cited as a contributing factor for wrong-sided blocks. We present two cases of near-miss wrong-sided peripheral nerve blocks and provide recommendations based on the current literature and the most common contributing factors.