Randomized Comparative Effectiveness Trial of Anesthesia/Analgesia Techniques for Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Pain management for total knee replacement (TKR) patients has evolved rapidly over the previous decade. The most recent advances in anesthesia include peripheral nerve blockade, which offers the promise of earlier postoperative mobilization in addition to effective pain relief. The rapidity with which these advancements have been adopted seems to have outpaced the science to support them. The result has been the institution of countless combinations of perioperative pain management strategies in centers nationwide with little standardization, consistency, or objective evidence. The extent to which these various strategies achieve safe and effective perioperative pain control or functional preservation remains poorly defined. This prospective randomized control trial will aim to identify meaningful patient-centric outcome measures, differentiate from among three perioperative TKR anesthetic and analgesic strategies, and provide a template for interdisciplinary collaboration among orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, physical therapists, and patients. With the knowledge gained further study will continue to refine the most optimal early pain control protocol.

All primary TKR patients undergoing surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina who are able to receive spinal anesthesia will be randomized prior to surgery to one of three forms of lower limb nerve blockade: 1) Continuous femoral nerve catheter plus single injection sciatic nerve block, 2) Adductor canal catheter plus selective tibial nerve block, 3) Adductor canal catheter alone. All patients will receive additional standardized pain medications as well as early mobilization with physical therapy. The primary outcome measure will be postoperative visual analog pain scale (VAS), with secondary measures to include validated patient-reported outcome measures, objective functional measures (timed-up-and-go (TUG), patient satisfaction scores, length of stay, discharge disposition, and complications. The investigators plan to enroll approximately 90 patients. This will allow us to reach our randomization goal of at least 75 patients while taking into account withdrawals. The 75 patients will be randomized into the three treatment three treatment arms over a 6-month recruitment period, with a 3 month follow-up for patient reported outcome and satisfaction data. A focus group will facilitate patient engagement and provide information for generation of a preference survey to guide future study design.