Pain control after primary total knee replacement. A prospective randomised controlled trial of local infiltration versus single shot femoral nerve block

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

42 patients who underwent primary cemented total knee replacement were randomized to comparatively evaluate early postoperative pain management with intra-articular filtration against femoral nerve block. Patients were primarily evaluated based on postoperative pain measured on a 10cm VAS, 4 hours after surgery along with several secondary outcomes. The evidence presented in this study demonstrated that intraoperative local infiltration resulted in superior early pain relief and reduced usage of opiate analgesia when compared to a femoral nerve block. Time to achieve physiotherapy goals and length of stay were comparable between interventions, however this finding may be underpowered.