Femoral Nerve Block Cuts Opioid Use in ACL Reconstruction
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 8, 2024 -- For patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, a femoral nerve block (FNB) is associated with a lower incidence of excessive opioid consumption than adductor canal block (ACB), according to a study presented at the 49th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting, held from March 21 to 23 in San Diego.
Justin Chen, from Stanford University in California, and colleagues conducted a single-institution, randomized trial involving patients undergoing ACL reconstruction. Sixty patients received a standard ultrasound-guided femoral or ACB catheter before surgery; 28 and 29, respectively, were included in the analysis. Surgeries were completed under general anesthesia. Pain scores and opioid use were recorded in the recovery room before discharge home. At 24 and 48 hours after discharge from the recovery room, a quality of recovery questionnaire (QoR-15) was administered by phone.
The researchers found that opioid consumption was low in the FNB group and was high in the ACB group. Within the FNB group, no patients had high opioid consumption of more than 50 morphine milligram equivalents (MME)/day, while 79 percent had low opioid use of less than 10 MME/day. In the ACB group, 17 and 59 percent of patients had high and low opioid use, respectively. The FNB group had better continuous passive motion compliance than the ACB group at both 24 and 48 hours after surgery. No differences were seen for pain scores or the QoR-15 score between the FNB and ACB groups.
"The FNB catheter exhibits a superior analgesic profile compared to the ACB catheter," the authors write. "This is evidenced by a lower incidence of excessive opioid consumption and a higher occurrence of CPM (continuous passive motion) usage, indicating active engagement in rehabilitation."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted April 2024
Read this next
2016 to 2021 Saw Increase in Number of Periprosthetic Fractures
TUESDAY, July 16, 2024 -- The number of periprosthetic fractures of the hip and knee increased in recent years and is projected to continue increasing, according to a study...
Considerable Gaps Seen in Provision of Effective Treatment for Opioid Addiction
TUESDAY, July 16, 2024 -- There are considerable gaps in provision of effective treatments for opioid use disorders (OUD) at U.S. substance use disorder (SUD) treatment...
Low Quantity of Opioids Used After ED Discharge for Acute Pain
MONDAY, July 15, 2024 -- For patients presenting with acute pain, the quantity of opioids consumed during two weeks after emergency department discharge is low and varies across...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.