Fascia iliaca blockade with the addition of liposomal bupivacaine vs. plain bupivacaine for perioperative pain management following hip arthroscopy.

Purpose: A newer formulation of bupivacaine, encapsulated within carrier molecules, has garnered attention for its role in providing extended post-operative analgesia. The purpose was to evaluate the addition of liposomal bupivacaine to fascia iliaca blockade during hip arthroscopy.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy with a pre-operative fascia iliaca blockade with either liposomal bupivacaine (Group 1; 266mg + 20 cc 0.5% plain bupivacaine) or bupivacaine (Group 2; 40 cc 0.25% plain bupivacaine). All patients received standardized pre-operative oral pain medications. The primary outcome was the defense veteran pain rating scale (DVPRS). Secondary outcomes included duration of hospital admission, PACU opioid use, PACU pain scores, and duration of nerve blockade.

Results: Thirty-eight males and 30 females, mean age of 33 years (range 14-56). There was no difference in pre-operative DVPRS between the groups (n.s.). There was no difference in post-operative DVPRS pain scores at POD0 (3.7 vs. 3.9, n.s.), POD1 (4.2 vs. 3.8, n.s.), POD2 (4.2 vs. 3.7, n.s.), POD3 (3.9 vs. 3.7, n.s.) or POD14 (2.2 vs. 2.4, n.s.). Group 1 trended towards longer mean total hospital admission time (872 vs. 822 min, n.s.), and greater mean morphine equivalents administered in the PACU (33 vs. 29 mg, n.s.). 68% of patients in group 1 reported continued anterior thigh numbness at POD3, compared to 34% in group 2 (p = 0.008).

Conclusions: Despite the advertised benefits of prolonged post-operative analgesia using liposomal bupivacaine, there were no significant differences in post-operative pain scores or PACU opioid consumption. Our results support that acceptable pain scores are successfully achieved at all time periods with the use of multimodal analgesia including fascia iliaca blockade despite the type of pain medication administered.

Level Of Evidence: III.