Adductor canal block in outpatient clinic for pain control after knee arthroplasty: A randomized controlled, clinical trial.

Background: Successful total knee replacement surgery is influenced by surgery and rehabilitation program. We hypothesized the adductor canal block (ACB) in the outpatient clinic is safe, effective for pain relief and decreases analgesic consumption compared with controls.

Methods: a paired, randomized controlled trial. The intervention group received ACB with 15 mL mixture of ropivacaine 0.2% with isotonic saline and steroids on post-operative day 14 (POD-14) at the outpatient clinic, the control group received daily consumption of analgesic. We evaluated Visual Analog Score (VAS) pain score, and analgesic consumption.

Results: 35 subjects for each group. In the ACB group, mean of age was 66.42 years old, mean of BMI was 25.87. The control group, mean of age was 64.11 years old, mean of BMI was 25.95. There were significantly different mean VAS scores of both groups and analgesic consumption of both groups on POD 15^th, 17^th and 19^th (p = 0.00, 0.000 and 0.001, respectively). Two patients complained about hematoma in their thigh (insertion needle) and recovered.

Conclusions: Single-shot ACB in the outpatient clinic is safe, significantly decreased pain and analgesic consumption and may enhance the rehabilitation program.