Abstract
We aimed to determine the impact of anaesthetic techniques on post-operative analgesic utilisation in people undergoing total knee arthroplasty. We conducted a prospective study at a district general hospital to assess post-operative analgesia use via patient controlled analgesia (PCA) in patients undergoing a elective total knee arthroplasty. Subjects were divided into three groups; group 1 (general anaesthetic and local nerve block, n = 39), group 2 (spinal only, n= 39) and group 3 (general anaesthetic only, n = 38). The primary outcome measure was post-operative morphine consumption through a PCA within the first 24 hours. All subjects were followed up post-operatively by a dedicated pain control nurse. Data was analysed using SPSS version 17 for Windows (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA).
Results are reported as mean (SD) unless stated otherwise. No significant difference in the age or sex distribution between groups was demonstrable. There was no statistical difference in the average usage of morphine when comparing Group 1 compared to group 2, (77.57 (49.56) vs 65.80 (44.71), p=0.27), group 1 compared to group 3, (77.57 (49.56) vs 77.80 (45.52) p=0.98) and finally group 2 compared to group 3, (65.80 (44.71) vs 77.80 (45.52), p=0.25).
In this cohort of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty the anaesthetic technique used does not appear to have an influence on the post-operative pain management.
