Comparative Study Between Dexamethasone, and Dexmedetomidine as Additives to Bupivacaine in Ultrasound Guided Adductor Canal Block in Knee Arthroscopy

Arthroscopic knee surgery can cause significant postoperative pain to the degree that can potentially delay timely discharge from the ambulatory surgical setting. Analgesia after knee surgery can be provided by multiple, non-systemic, non-opioid-based methods, including local anesthetic infiltration, peripheral nerve blockade, neuraxial procedures, and intra-articular injections. The femoral nerve block has been shown to be superior to traditional intra-articular injection of local anesthetics in some knee surgeries, but motor blockade of the quadriceps muscle, with the potential risk for falls, limits the value of femoral blocks for less invasive ambulatory surgery. Orthopedic surgery is increasingly being performed on an ambulatory basis, where perioperative analgesia can improve timely discharge in the outpatient setting.