Efficacy of Adductor Canal Blockade Compared to Multimodal Peri-Articular Analgesia Following Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Introduction: Postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can be an impediment to patient recovery. Many commonly used pain control modalities are effective, but are also associated with adverse effects. Other modalities, such as adductor canal blocks (ACB) and multimodal periarticular analgesia (MPA), have gained popularity due to their efficacy and high safety profile. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no published studies indicating if a therapeutic advantage exists between the two pain control modalities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the: 1) length of stay; 2) level of pain; 3) discharge status; and 4) opioid consumption, in TKA patients who received either ACB or MPA.

Materials And Methods: A single hospital, single surgeon database was reviewed for patients who had a TKA between January 2015 and April 2016, and received either ACB or MPA. This search yielded 98 patients who had a mean age of 63 years (range, 38 to 90 years), comprised of 29 men and 69 women. Patients were divided into those who received ACB alone (n= 54) and those who received MPA alone (n= 44). With the use of electronic medical records, demographic and endpoint data were obtained. Pain was quantified using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Continuous variables were compared using the student's t-test, while categorical variables were compared utilizing a chi-square test.

Results: The mean length of hospital stay (LOS) was significantly shorter for patients who had ACB when compared to patients who had MPA (2.12 days vs. 2.88 days; p = 0.005). There was no significant difference in VAS scores (p= 0.448), proportion of patients discharged home (p= 0.432), or total opioid consumption (p= 0.247) between the two groups.

Conclusion: Total knee arthroplasty patients who received an adductor canal block had shorter lengths of stay when compared to those who received multimodal peri-articular analgesia. Shortened hospital stays may be cost-effective for institutions and providers, however, larger studies are needed to further assess the effect on quality of care provided.