Effectiveness of continuous femoral nerve block for pain relief after total knee arthroplasty: comparison with epidural patient-controlled analgesia and periarticular injection

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes among three analgesic techniques, continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB), epidural patient-controlled analgesia (EPCA) and periarticular injection (PAI), in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods This retrospective case–control study enrolled patients that underwent TKA. Visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores, sleep disturbance, additional opioid consumption and incidence of opioid-related side-effects were assessed. Results A total of 120 patients were categorized into three groups: EPCA (group A, n = 40), PAI (group B, n = 40) and CFNB (group C, n = 40). Group C had significantly lower VAS pain scores than groups A and B at 8, 12 and 24 h after TKA. There were no significant differences in VAS pain scores among the three groups from 48 h after TKA. Sleep quality on the first day after surgery was significantly better in group C than in groups A and B. Additional opioid consumption was significantly lower in the group C than in the groups A and B. Group C showed a lower rate of opioid-related side-effects than groups A and B. Conclusion CFNB was a more effective additional analgesic technique than EPCA or PAI for acute postoperative pain control within 24 h of TKA.