Comparison of Local Infiltration of Analgesia and Sciatic Nerve Block in Addition to Femoral Nerve Block for Total Knee Arthroplasty

Forty-six patients were randomly assigned to receive either local infiltration of analgesia (LIA) or sciatic nerve block (SNB) in addition to femoral nerve block (FNB) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The intention of the study was to test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in postoperative pain (numeric rating scale (NRS)) between the two adjunct analgesia methods. No significant difference in pain scores between groups was observed in the 21 days following TKA. Additionally, there was no difference between groups in time required to achieve rehabilitation goals or time to discharge.