BACKGROUND: Rotator-cuff surgery is well recognized to be a painful procedure.OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an arthroscopically placed perineural catheter at the scapular notch to provide a continuous block of the suprascapular nerve (continuous arthroscopically assisted suprascapular nerve block [ca-SSNB]) following arthroscopic rotator-cuff repair (ARCR).MATERIALS AND METHODS: This level II, prospective, randomized, controlled trial without postoperative blinding included 40 patients, who had a 48-hour pain pump, with 0.2% ropivacaine infusion and a continuous rate of 3 mL/hour, placed via an arthroscopically placed catheter following ARCR with arthroscopic release of the superior transverse ligament: 21 patients had a ca-SSNB, and 19 patients had a continuous subacromial bursal block (SAB). The visual analog scale (at 6 hours and on the first, second, and third postoperative days) and the total number of additional pain-reduction attempts during the 3 postoperative days were calculated.RESULTS: The respective visual analog scale scores (mm) obtained from the ca-SSNB and SAB groups were 62.4 and 67.6 (P=0.73) before surgery, 9.1 and 19.4 (P=0.12) at 6 hours after surgery, 24.4 and 44.6 (P=0.019) on the first postoperative day, 19.4 and 40.4 (P=0.0060) on the second postoperative day, and 18.5 and 27.8 (P=0.21) on the third postoperative day. Total additional pain-reduction attempts recorded for the ca-SSNB and SAB groups during the 3 postoperative days were 0.3 times and 1.2 times (P=0.0020), respectively.CONCLUSION: ca-SSNB was highly effective in controlling postoperative pain after ARCR.
CITATION STYLE
Yamakado, K. (2014). Efficacy of arthroscopically placed pain catheter adjacent to the suprascapular nerve (continuous arthroscopically assisted suprascapular nerve block) following arthroscopic rotator-cuff repair. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 129. https://doi.org/10.2147/oajsm.s63345
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