Comparison of adductor canal block and IPACK block (interspace between the popliteal artery and the capsule of the posterior knee) with adductor canal block alone after total knee arthroplasty: a prospective control trial on pain and knee function in immediate postoperative period.

BACKGROUND: Adductor canal block (ACB) is a peripheral nerve blockade technique that provides good pain control in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty which however does not relieve posterior knee pain. The recent technique of an ultrasound-guided local anesthetic infiltration of the interspace between popliteal artery and the capsule of posterior knee (IPACK) has shown promising results in providing significant posterior knee analgesia without affecting the motor nerves. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted from September 2016 to March 2017 in a total of 120 patients undergoing unilateral total knee arthroplasty. The initial 60 consecutive patients received ACB + IPACK (Group 1, n = 60), and the subsequent 60 patients received ACB alone (Group 2, n = 60). All patients were evaluated with VAS score for pain recorded at 8 h, postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD 2 after the surgery. The secondary outcome measures assessed were the range of movement (ROM) and ambulation distance. RESULTS: VAS score showed significantly (p < 0.005) better values in ACB + IPACK group compared to the ACB group. The mean ROM of knee and ambulation distance also showed significantly better values in ACB + IPACK group compared to the ACB group. CONCLUSION: ACB + IPACK is a promising technique that offers improved pain management in the immediate postoperative period without affecting the motor function around the knee joint resulting in better ROM and ambulation compared to ACB alone.

Comparative analysis of influence of adductor canal block and multimodal periarticular infiltration versus adductor canal block alone on pain and knee range of movement after total knee arthroplasty: a prospective non-randomised study.

PURPOSE: Pain management after total knee arthroplasty has seen many recent advances such as peripheral nerve blocks in order to improve the functional outcome and reduce morbidity after surgery. Adductor canal block (ACB) and multimodal periarticular infiltration (MPI) are two techniques that have been proven to be efficacious individually. We hypothesized that the combination of ACB with MPI would reduce pain and improve knee range of movement (ROM) compared to ACB alone. METHODS: A prospective non-randomized study was conducted from July 2015 to December 2015 in our institution in a total of 200 consecutive patients undergoing unilateral total knee arthroplasty who were either given ACB alone (Group 1, n = 100 patients) or ACB + MPI (Group 2, n = 100 patients). All the patients were assessed for severity of pain by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at 8, 24, 48 h postoperatively and knee ROM after 48 h. RESULTS: Patients in ACB + MPI group had significantly better VAS scores at 8 h postoperatively but showed no significant difference at 24 and 48 h compared to ACB group. Patients in ACB + MPI group showed significantly better knee ROM after 48 h. CONCLUSIONS: Our study concludes that patients receiving ACB + MPI have demonstrated better VAS scores in the immediate postoperative period but have no significant difference at the time of discharge.