Management of acute postoperative pain in hip arthroplasty: Analgesic eficacy of peripheral nerve blocks

Abstract

Background: Locoregional analgesia is a recommended method for treating postoperative pain.

Objective: To compare the analgesic eficacy of femoral nerve block (FNB) combined with lateral femoral cutaneous nerve block (LFCNB); pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block combined with LFCNB; and fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) alone in patients undergoing primary hip arthroplasty.

Methodology: Analytical-correlational and retrospective study with a total of 994 patients. The non-probability convenience sample was obtained from January 1, 2013, to October 15, 2023. Ethical principles were safeguarded. Descriptive and inferential analysis was carried out using the Python Programming Language software (Version 3.12).

Results: Most patients reported no pain at rest (82.7%) and mild movement-evoked pain (55.2%). Rescue analgesia with opioids was low (7.8%). The group of patients undergoing PENG block+LFCNB had a lower degree of sensory block than those undergoing FNB+LFCNB (p = 0.036).

Conclusion: These diferent techniques have similar analgesic efcacy. The results suggest that PENG block+LFCNB can provide effective analgesia with fewer adverse effects.