2015 AAOS Annual Meeting: Comparison of Adductor Canal and Femoral Nerve Blocks in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

55 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were randomized to receive either femoral nerve block, adductor nerve block, or no block. All patients also received an intraoperative bupivicaine injection (Exparel). The purpose of the study was to evaluate how effective these options are in terms of relieving pain and improving function. The results indicated that adductor canal block combined with intraoperative bupivacaine injection was able to more effectively reduce pain and length of hospital stay than patients receiving femoral nerve block with intraoperative bupivacaine or those simply receiving intraoperative bupivacaine alone.