Single shot versus continuous technique adductor canal block for analgesia following total knee arthroplasty: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: An adductor canal block (ACB) provides recognized analgesia following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This metaanalysis compared the single-injection ACB (SACB) with the continuous-injection ACB (CACB). Method: Relevant studies were searched from PubMed (1996-October 2018), Embase (1980-October 2018), and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL, October 2018). Four randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which compared SACB with CACB, were included in our meta-analysis. Results: Four RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Our pooled data indicated that the SACB group had similar efficacy compared with the CACB group in terms of morphine consumption (P=.19), time to first opioid request (P=.32), range of motion (P=.97), and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at 24hours at rest (P=.12) and movement (P=.24), without increasing the risk of complications (P=.97) and length of stay (P=.54). Conclusion: The SACB technique provides similar analgesia in the 24hours following TKA compared with CACB, while the CACB method was better over 48hours.