A Comparison of Three Methods for Postoperative Pain Control in Patients Undergoing Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

57 patients scheduled to undergo elective arthroscopic shoulder surgery were randomized to receive interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB), continuous cervical epidural (CCE) analgesia or intra-articular (IA) analgesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of these analgesic options on measured pain, rescue opioid dosages and pain severity at rest and during motion using a numerical rating scale (NRS). Outcomes were assessed up to 48 hours postoperatively. The results indicated that ISB was equally as effective for pain management as CCE which was evidenced by the lower requirement of rescue analgesia and improved pain at rest and during motion in patients of the two groups. Patients in the IA group experience significantly more pain and required a significantly greater amount of rescue opiates.