The role of multimodal postoperative analgesia after primary hip arthroplasty

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the increasing number of arthroplasties, the number of post-operative hospital days was reduced and the rate of rehabilitation accelerated. For this, proper postoperative analgesia is essential and the multimodal pain relief is an excellent tool. Aim: The aim of our study was to compare postoperative functional results, postoperative pain levels, and opioid analgesic needs of patients who received conventional and novel analgesic treatments. Method: In our prospective study, 81 patients were enrolled who underwent primary hip prosthesis surgery in our institution between February 2017 and January 2018. Of the randomized patients, 38 were in the control group and 43 in the multimodal pain group. We have tested their analgesic needs and the subjective pain levels of patients with the help of the visual analog scale (VAS). Results: Patients receiving multimodal pain relief had significantly lower opioid analgesic requirements and significantly lower VAS values assessed at 6 hours, and 3 and 4 days postoperatively. In addition, the patients in this group stayed in the hospital for a significantly shorter time after surgery. Conclusions: Based on our experience, multimodal pain relief in one-sided primary hip joint arthroplasty significantly reduced the patients' postoperative subjective pain sensation and pain killer consumptions.