Riassunto dello studio

Ninety-eight patients undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) were randomized to receive either topical NSAIDs applied lateral to the incision postoperatively (n=48) or a placebo (n=50). The primary outcomes of interest were opioid consumption and the visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included the American Knee Society Score (AKSS, preoperatively and at 1-month follow-up), time to first analgesic demand, opioid-related side effects, operation time, postoperative length of stay, surgery-related complications, and postoperative incision healing grade. Overall, the study found that opioid consumption was significantly lower in the intervention group at multiple time points, and the VAS pain scores were consistently lower within the first 72 hours postoperatively (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in AKSS, complications, or incision healing. The findings suggest that topical NSAIDs are an effective and safe method for reducing postoperative pain and opioid use after UKA.