2026 AAOS Annual Meeting: A Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Surgeon-performed, Intraoperative Adductor Canal Blocks in Same-Day Discharge Total Knee Arthroplasty

160 patients undergoing same-day total knee arthroplasty were randomized to receive either an anatomic-guided surgeon-performed adductor canal block (ACB) or an ultrasound-guided, anesthesiologist-performed ACB. The primary outcome of interest was the time from spinal anesthetic reversal to discharge readiness. Secondary outcomes of interest included pain at discharge, opioid consumption, failure to discharge, readmission, and patient reported outcomes. Results revealed a slightly longer time from anesthetic reversal to discharge (183.5 vs. 237.3); otherwise, no significant differences in all outcomes were observed, suggesting surgeon-performed ACBs are non-inferior to anesthesiologist performed ACBs.