Trial to Compare Femoral Nerve Block With Local Anaesthetic Injection for Post-operative Pain After Knee Replacement.

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2018-07-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Pain after a knee replacement can impair recovery and use of the new knee. Having an injection to numb the femoral nerve is known to give good pain relief after the operation but may lead to slower mobilisation as it also prevents the patient from moving the knee. Recent studies have shown that infiltration of local anaesthetic (LIA) within the new knee joint may also give good pain relief. The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in primary or secondary outcome measures between femoral nerve block and LIA, as anaesthetic techniques for knee replacement.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
• Treatments: Acetaminophen; Anesthetics; Anesthetics, Local; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Antiemetics; Bupivacaine; Emetics; Ibuprofen; Morphine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

All adult patients presenting for primary knee arthroplasty under the care of the Exeter Knee Unit Consultants Messrs Toms, Eyres, Cox, Mandalia, Schrantz.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Total knee arthroplasty for trauma

2. Unicompartmental surgery

3. Bilateral surgery

4. Contra indication to spinal anaesthesia or peripheral nerve blocks (anticoagulation, hydrocephalus, raised intracranial pressure, peripheral neuropathy)

5. Allergy to local anaesthetics or morphine

6. Chronic pain:

• Under active follow up by chronic pain team

• Chronic strong opiate use (morphine, oxycodone, buprenorphine, pethidine, methadone). Codeine, dihydrocodeine and tramadol are not included

• Other chronic pain medications (including gabapentin, pregabalin or amitriptyline)

7. Unable to adequately understand verbal explanations or written information given in English, or patients with special communication needs -