Efficacy and safety of local infiltration analgesia for pain management in total knee and hip arthroplasty: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial.

Background: Local infiltration analgesia (LIA) has become popular in postoperative pain relief after total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of LIA with intrathecal morphine and epidural analgesia after THA and TKA.

Methods: A systematic article search was performed from PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, up to February 21, 2019. The main outcomes included visual analog scale for assessment of pain, morphine equivalent consumption, length of hospital stay, and adverse events. The data were calculated using weight mean difference (WMD) or risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results: Eleven studies with a total of 707 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. LIA provided better pain control than other 2 techniques at 24-hour (WMD = 10.61, 95% CI: 3.36-17.87; P = .004), 48-hour (WMD = 16.0, 95% CI: 8.87-23.13; P < .001), and 72-hour (WMD = 11.31, 95% CI: 3.78-18.83; P < .001). Moreover, LIA had similar morphine consumption and duration of hospital stay with intrathecal morphine and epidural analgesia. There was significantly lower incidence of adverse events with LIA than with the other 2 techniques.

Conclusion: LIA provided better postoperative pain control and less adverse events than intrathecal morphine and epidural analgesia after THA and TKA.