Intraoperative surgical versus preoperative ultrasound?€?guided adductor canal block for analgesia after total knee arthroplasty: A randomized trial.

Study Summary

61 patients undergoing unilateral primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were randomized to receive an intraoperative surgeon-performed adductor canal block (ACB) or a preoperative ultrasound-guided ACB. The primary outcome of interest was pain at rest 24 hours postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included 24-hour morphine consumption, pain in the post-anaesthesia care unit, pain on postoperative day 3, rescue nerve block requirements, adverse events, and length of hospital stay. Outcomes were assessed in the immediate postoperative period, at 24 hours, on postoperative day 3, and at the final in-hospital assessment. Overall, the results revealed no significant difference in 24-hour pain or opioid consumption between groups, and pain remained similarly low across subsequent time points. No block-related adverse events occurred. These findings suggested that surgeon-performed intraoperative ACB provided similar early analgesia to preoperative ultrasound-guided ACB.