Abstract
Our study is still in progress. The results mentioned in the abstract are preliminary results. The final results will be provided at the time of presentation.
Over the past decade, the widespread availability of high-resolution ultrasonography coupled with advances in regional anaesthesia have popularised peripheral nerve blocks for anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions (ACLRs). The aim of this study is to investigate whether the femoral nerve block (FNB) administered at the time of ACLR has any long-term impact on the quadriceps strength as compared to patients who did not receive a FNB.
This is a retrospective study. Four hundred charts of patients who underwent ACLR at our institution and had subsequent Biodex testing (an isokinetic rehabilitation test that provides objective information about muscle strength deficits and imbalances of the operated leg compared to the non-operated leg) from 2004 to 2015 were reviewed. Patients who had prior ipsilateral knee surgery, multi-ligament knee injury or at extreme ages were excluded from the study. The following baseline patient characteristics was recorded for each reviewed chart: age, sex, medical comorbidities, the date of the injury, date of the surgery, surgery technical notes and associated procedures, the surgeon, the hospital were the patient was operated, the Biodex test date and the Biodex test results. Data extraction assessed any association between the ACLR patients' who received FNB with the results of the Biodex test after completing the rehabilitation protocol. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the type of anaesthesia, mode of pain control and the results of the Biodex tests between patients grouped by the mode of anaesthesia used at the time of surgery (FNB versus no FNB). A multivariate regression model then compared quadriceps strength (inferred by Biodex test results) between groups while controlling for baseline differences between groups.
Fifty five percent of the ACLR patients received FNB compared to 45% that did not receive FNB over the last 11 years of performing ACLRs (2004–2015) at our institute. Fifty percent of the patients that received FNB failed to achieve more than or equal to 80% quadriceps strength (compared to the contralateral non-operated leg) at 6 months on Biodex test. On the other hand, only 20% of the non-FNB group failed to achieve more than or equal to 80% quadriceps strength.
This study lead us to think that ACLR patients that received FNB are significantly weaker in quadriceps strength at 6 months post ACLR in comparison to non-FNB ACLR patients. This finding subsequently might affect the time needed to return to sports and might indicate a considerable clinical consequence of the FNB on ACL-reconstruction patients.
