A Comparison of Two Methods of Regional Anesthesia

Abstract

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Poorly controlled post-operative pain is a common cause of patient dissatisfaction. With future emphasis on value-based medicine, optimization of cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction is critical. Popliteal and saphenous nerve blocks are routinely use in foot and ankle orthopaedic surgery and have become the gold standard for immediate post-operative analgesia. Traditionally a single long-acting local anesthetic agent is utilized which achieves analgesia for 6-24 hours. Recent evidence has shown that multimodal anesthesia with combined anesthetic agents remains effective for a longer duration compared to single-medication nerve blocks. The purpose of this study is to determine if patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery safely benefit from multi-modal compared with traditional single-medication nerve blocks. Methods: This was a two-armed, prospective, randomized, double-blinded study. The study population consisted of 70 patients from a single institution undergoing foot and ankle surgery by two fellowship-trained orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons. 34 patients received a local anesthetic only popliteal and saphenous nerve block (Bupivacaine) and the other 36 patients received a triple additive nerve block (Dexamethasone, Clonidine, and Buprenorphine) in addition to Bupivacaine. Pre- and Post-operative assessments were performed to determine VAS pain scores, numbness, duration of anesthesia, patient satisfaction with analgesia, and oral pain medication use. Results: Triple additive (TA) nerve block mean duration to onset of pain was longer than for single agent (LA) nerve blocks (40.2 hrs vs 24.3 hrs respectively). Time to complete block resolution was also longer for the TA nerve blocks (82.3 hours) compared to LA blocks (38.7 hrs). 17/34 TA block patients had residual numbness at 1 week compared to 5/36 LA block patients. However, by 3 months there was no difference (8/34 TA and 7/36 LA). There was no significant difference in VAS scores or patient satisfaction rates at 1 week or 3 months. 7/34 TA block patients required narcotic refills compared to 6/36 LA block patients. There was no significant difference in complications between the groups. Conclusion: Triple agent nerve blocks give a longer duration of effective postoperative analgesia compared to single agent blocks. There was a higher rate of lingering numbness in the triple agent blocks at one week but not at 3 months. Patient satisfaction was very high for both groups regardless of their VAS pain scores. Triple agent nerve blocks demonstrate equivalent safety compared with single agent nerve blocks.