Effect of Warmed Irrigation Fluid on Immediate Post-operative Pain Scores in Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroscopy

In the last two decades, hip arthroscopy for the treatment of femoral acetabular impingement has increased rapidly. Currently, over 30k hip scopes are performed annually in the United States (incidence 1.06 per 10K). Due to anatomical differences, hip arthroscopy procedures have the potential for significant fluid extravasation when compared to knee arthroscopy. A 2011 study on hip arthroscopy showed on average 9.68 liters of fluid were used for a standard hip procedure; of that 1.13 liters absorbed into the surrounding soft tissues. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis showed warming of arthroscopic fluids significantly decreased the risk of hypothermia during hip arthroscopy. Additionally, active warming has been shown to decrease the rate of surgical site infection during numerous procedures. In total knee arthroplasty patients, a forced air warming gown significantly reduced narcotic pain consumption compared to standard care. However, the benefits of active warming for decreasing post-operative pain has not been studied in hip arthroscopy patients. Specifically, the investigators were interested in the roll the pre-warming arthroscopic fluid plays in post-operative pain after hip arthroscopy. The purpose of this study is to see if pre-warming of arthroscopic fluid reduces immediate post-surgical pain and narcotic consumption in hip arthroscopy patients.