Comparison of the Effect of Ultrasound-guided Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block and PENG Block on Postoperative Analgesia Management in Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroplasty: A Multicentric, Randomized, Prospective Study.

Hip arthroplasty is one of the most common orthopedic procedures especially in elderly patients due to deformation of joint. Patients may complain severe pain due to the surgical trauma and the prosthesis. Opioid agents are commonly used for analgesia management. However, opioids have adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, sedation and respiratory depression. Regional anesthesia methods may be performed to reduce opioid consumption and opioid-related side effects. The hip joint consists of the femoral head and the acetabulum. Sensory innervation of the hip joint is provided by the femoral nerve, obturator nerve, articular branches of the sciatic nerve, and superior gluteal nerve. Skin innervation of the lateral femur is provided by the lateral cutaneous femoral nerve. The upper anterior part of the thigh is innervated by the genitofemoral and ilioinguinal nerves. These nerves originate from the lumbar and sacral plexus. The innervation of the hip joint is complex, and the selection of the blocking technique is important after these operations.

Because of the increasing use of ultrasound (US) in anesthesia practice, US-guided nerve blocks are widely used. One of the most used methods in the management of analgesia after hip surgery is the fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB). FICB was first described in 1989 by Dalens et al. defined by. It is a popular regional anesthetic technique for surgical procedures involving the hip joint and femur. Since the local anesthetic agent is injected proximally under the fascia ilica, FICB can be considered as the anterior approach of the lumbar plexus blockade. It blocks the femoral nerve, obturator nerve, and lateral cutaneous femoral nerve. There are studies in the literature reporting that it provides effective analgesia after hip surgery.

Pericapsular nerve group block (PENG block) is a novel fascial block defined by Arango et al. In this block, it is aimed to block the femoral nerve and the accessory obturatory nerve by injecting local anesthetic between the pubic ramus and the psoas tendon. By blocking these nerves, anterior hip analgesia is provided. It is a safe and effective method as it is applied superficially and under ultrasound guidance. In radiological and cadaver studies, it has been reported that total hip analgesia can be provided by blocking the lateral femoral cutaneous, genitofemoral, obturator, and femoral nerves when high volume is applied. Studies evaluating PENG block efficacy are limited in the literature. There is a study comparing PENG block and femoral nerve block, but there is no study comparing it with FICB yet.

This prospective, multicenter study aimed to compare the efficacy of PENG block and FICB for postoperative analgesia management in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty with a prosthesis. Our primary aim is to compare global recovery scores, and our secondary aim is to evaluate postoperative opioid consumption, pain scores (Numerical Rating Scale-NRS), and side effects (allergic reaction, nausea, vomiting, etc.) related with opioid use.