Analgesic Benefits of Genicular Nerve Blocks of the Posterior Knee for Patients Undergoing Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction
Overview
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Intervention
- Bupivacaine
- Conditions
- Rupture of Anterior Cruciate Ligament
- Sponsor
- Northwestern University
- Enrollment
- 18
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Opioid Consumption
- Status
- Terminated
- Last Updated
- 9 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
Outpatients scheduled to have ACL surgery typically receive a femoral nerve block to provide analgesia for the front of the knee. Postoperatively, these patients will often report pain in the back of the knee. Local anesthetic infiltration of the posterior aspect of the knee results in blockade of the genicular nerves of the posterior knee. These nerves originate off of the tibial and common peroneal nerves and their blockade will result in improved posterior knee pain relief and may decrease narcotic consumption compared to patients who receive the same infiltration with normal saline.
Detailed Description
Femoral nerve blocks are commonly used to provide postoperative analgesia for ACL surgery. The limitation of these blocks is the incomplete analgesia they provide of the knee joint subjecting the patient to posterior knee pain. As a result, some of these patients receive rescue sciatic blocks in the postoperative care unit to cover posterior knee pain. The sciatic block provides excellent analgesia for the posterior knee; however its blockade invariably affects other territories of the sciatic nerve such as the lower leg and foot. For ACL surgery, the loss of sensation and/or motor strength to this area is unnecessary and may make ambulation more difficult. The ability to ambulate with minimal assistance may be more important for a patient undergoing an outpatient surgery when compared to an inpatient surgery. At the posterior knee, the sciatic nerve branches off into the tibial and common peroneal nerves which give rise to sensory fibers that innervate the posterior knee. We propose targeting these terminal fibers in the popliteal fossa by infiltrating local anesthetic between the distal femoral shaft and popliteal artery thereby providing posterior knee analgesia without affecting the lower leg.This application of this block has not been studied in patients having ACL surgery. A single interim analysis is scheduled after the data for 50 cases are available.
Investigators
Rohit Rahangdale
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Northwestern University
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •patients who are presenting for ACL reconstruction
- •candidates for peripheral nerve blocks patients
Exclusion Criteria
- •Patient refusal
- •ASA Classification of 4 or higher
- •Pre-existing neuropathy in the femoral or sciatic distribution
- •Coagulopathy
- •Infection at the site
- •Non-English speaking or non-reading patients
- •Chronic opioid use (\>3months)
- •Any other contra-indication to regional anesthesia
- •Failed femoral nerve block
- •Sciatic nerve block placed due to severe pain not managed by intravenous and oral agents.
Arms & Interventions
Study Drug
Ultrasound guided posterior genicular nerve infiltration with 30mL of Bupivicaine 0.20% with epinephrine 1:300,000 (Study Drug)
Intervention: Bupivacaine
Preservative free normal saline
Ultrasound guided posterior genicular nerve infiltration posterior knee with 30mL of preservative free normal saline
Intervention: Preservative free normal saline
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Opioid Consumption
Time Frame: 24 hours
Opioid consumption (mg morphine equivalents)
Secondary Outcomes
- Pain Score(Pain Burden at 24hrs)
- Quality of Recovery (QoR15)(24hrs)
- Patient Satisfaction(24hr)