Acta Orthopaedica et Traumatologica Turcica
Research Article

Comparison of efficacy between combined periarticular and incisional injections versus periarticular injection alone of bupivacaine for pain control after total knee arthroplasty: A prospective randomized controlled trial

1.

Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Harran University, School of Medicine, Şanlıurfa, Turkey

2.

Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Harran University, School of Medicine, Şanlıurfa, Turkey

3.

Deparment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Health Sciences University Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey

AOTT 2020; 54: 402-407
DOI: 10.5152/j.aott.2020.20212
Read: 1203 Downloads: 501 Published: 12 June 2020

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of combined periarticular and incisional injections versus periarticular injection alone of bupivacaine in reducing post-operative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind comparative study, 90 patients with primary osteoarthritis who underwent TKA were enrolled. The patients were then randomly divided into 3 groups (30 in each): group 1, without injection; group 2, with periarticular injection of 20 mL 0.5% bupivacaine hydrogen chloride (HCl) (100 mg) after implantation; and group 3, periarticular injection of 20 mL 0.5% bupivacaine HCl (100 mg) after implantation and incisional injection of 10 mL 0.5% bupivacaine HCl (50 mg) before wound closure. Post-operative pain levels were measured using a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) (0 mm: no pain and 100 mm: worst pain) at 30 min and 1, 2, 4, and 6 h, post-operatively.

Results: The mean VAS score in group 3 (the combined group-periarticular and incisional injections) within the first 4 h was lower than that in group 1 and group 2 (p<0.001). The mean VAS scores at the first 30 min were 65.21±9.46 in group 1, 51.86±5.96 in group 2, and 29.33±8.55 in group 3 (p<0.001). The mean VAS scores at the first 1 h were 64.43±9.32 in group 1, 47.26±4.77 in group 2, and 31.66±7.37 in group 3 (p<0.001). The mean scores at the 2 h were 61.46±8.62 in group 1, 48.33±4.66 in group 2, and 30.83±6.76 in group 3 (p<0.001). The mean scores at the 4 h were 64.72±8.91 in group 1, 47.53±4.35 in group 2, and 34.36±6.64 in group 3 (p<0.001). The differences were not significant at 6 h between group 2 (44.91±4.12) and group 3 (41.83±6.71) (p>0.001). However, the values were significantly lower than those of the control group (63.56±9.73) (p<0.001). In addition, VAS scores at all follow-up times were significantly higher in the control group compared with the other groups (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Evidence from this study revealed that the combined injection of bupivacaine is more effective than its periarticular injection alone and provides effective post-operative pain management after TKA.

Level of Evidence: Level I, Therapeutic study

Cite this article as: Altay N, Sarıkaya B, Karahan MA, et al. Comparison of efficacy between combined periarticular and incisional injections versus periarticular injection alone of bupivacaine for pain control after total knee arthroplasty: A prospective randomized controlled trial. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc 2020; 54(4): 402-7.

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ISSN 1017-995X EISSN 2589-1294