Lissi Gaarn-Larsen

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Length of stay (LOS) following total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) has been reduced to about 3 days in fast-track setups with functional discharge criteria. Earlier studies have identified patient characteristics predicting LOS, but little is known about specific reasons for being hospitalized following fast-track THA and TKA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To determine clinical and logistical factors that keep patients in hospital for the first postoperative 24-72 hours, we performed a cohort study of consecutive, unselected patients undergoing unilateral primary THA (n = 98) or TKA (n = 109). Median length of stay was 2 days. Patients were operated with spinal anesthesia and received multimodal analgesia with paracetamol, a COX-2 inhibitor, and gabapentin-with opioid only on request. Fulfillment of functional discharge criteria was assessed twice daily and specified reasons for not allowing discharge were registered. RESULTS: Pain, dizziness, and general weakness were the main clinical reasons for being hospitalized at 24 and 48 hours postoperatively while nausea, vomiting, confusion, and sedation delayed discharge to a minimal extent. Waiting for blood transfusion (when needed), for start of physiotherapy, and for postoperative radiographic examination delayed discharge in one fifth of the patients. INTERPRETATION: Future efforts to enhance recovery and reduce length of stay after THA and TKA should focus on analgesia, prevention of orthostatism, and rapid recovery of muscle function.

In a well-defined fast-track setup for total hip and knee arthroplasty, with a multimodal analgesic regimen consisting of intra-operative local anaesthetic infiltration and oral celecoxib, gabapentin and paracetamol for 6 days postoperatively, we conducted a prospective, consecutive, observational study. The purpose was to describe the prevalence and intensity of subacute postoperative pain and opioid related side effects, use of analgesics and functional ability 1-10 and 30 days postoperatively. Fast-track total hip and knee arthroplasty with early discharge (< 3 days) resulted in acceptable levels of pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting with concomitant low use of opioids in > 95% of patients after discharge before day 10 after total hip arthroplasty. However, after total knee arthroplasty 52% patients reported moderate pain (VAS 30-59 mm), and 16% severe pain (VAS > or = 60 mm) when walking 1 month after surgery with a concomitant increase in the use of strong opioids. These results emphasise the need for improvement in analgesia after discharge following total knee arthroplasty, to facilitate rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: High-volume local infiltration analgesia (LIA) is widely applied as part of a multimodal pain management strategy in total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, methodological problems hinder the exact interpretation of previous trials, and the evidence for LIA in THA remains to be clarified. Therefore, we evaluated whether intraoperative high-volume LIA, in addition to a multimodal oral analgesic regimen, would further reduce acute postoperative pain after THA. METHODS: Patients scheduled for unilateral, primary THA under spinal anesthesia were included in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial receiving high-volume (150 mL) wound infiltration with ropivacaine 0.2% with epinephrine (10 μg/mL) or saline 0.9%. A multimodal oral analgesic regimen consisting of slow-release acetaminophen 2 g, celecoxib 400 mg, and gabapentin 600 mg was instituted preoperatively. Rescue analgesic consisted of oral oxycodone. Pain was assessed repeatedly the first 8 hrs after surgery using the 100-mm visual analog scale. The primary end point was pain during walking (5 m) 8 hrs after surgery. Secondary end points were pain at rest, pain on 45 degrees of passive flexion of the hip with the leg straight, and cumulative consumption of oxycodone. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were included. Pain during walking (median [interquartile range] [95% confidence interval]) was low in the ropivacaine versus the placebo group (20 [14-38] [0-93] vs 22 [10-40] [0-83]) and did not differ significantly (P = 0.71). Consumption of rescue oxycodone (5 mg [0-10 mg] [0-24 mg] vs 10 mg [0-15 mg] [0-29 mg]) did not differ (P = 0.45). CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative high-volume LIA with ropivacaine 0.2% provided no additional reduction in acute pain after THA when combined with a multimodal oral analgesic regimen consisting of acetaminophen, celecoxib, and gabapentin and is therefore not recommended.