Dexmedetomidine Combined with Femoral Nerve Block Provides Effective Analgesia Similar to Femoral Nerve Combined with Sciatic Nerve Block in Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Study
Abstract
Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a severe traumatic procedure, and femoral nerve block (FNB) combined with a sciatic nerve block (SNB) is widely used in TKA. However, injury of the sciatic nerve is clinically reported. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) could reduce stress and inflammation, as well as improve pain in TKA. This study aims to observe the analgesic impact of DEX combined with FNB in TKA.
Methods: Eighty-eight patients undergoing TKA were included and randomly divided into two groups: DF group (FNB combined with DEX 0.6μg/kg before surgery, followed by DEX 0.2-0.4μg/kg/h until articular closure) and SF group (FNB combined with SNB). Each nerve was blocked with 0.375% ropivacaine 20mL, and all patients received general anesthesia routinely. The primary endpoint was the pain visual analog scale (VAS) score during activities at postoperative 24 hours.
Results: There was no statistical difference in the pain VAS scores at any time point. The mean duration of analgesia for patients with rescue analgesic requests was comparable between the two groups: 25.4 ± 6.3 hours in the DF group vs 24.8 ± 6.4 hours in the SF group (two-sample t-test, p=0.738). The total dose of sufentanil was similar between groups (P=0.355). The maintenance dose of propofol and dose of rescue analgesics were comparable (all P>0.05). There were no statistical differences in the incidence of adverse events. However, the time to extubate in the DF group was significantly longer than those in the SF…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Continued Treatment With Tirzepatide for Maintenance of Weight Reduction in Adults With Obesity: The SURMOUNT-4 Randomized Clinical Trial
- Clinical Trial of Vadadustat in Patients with Anemia Secondary to Stage 3 or 4 Chronic Kidney Disease
- Human Leukocyte Antigen Complex and Other Immunogenetic and Clinical Factors Influence Susceptibility or Protection to SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Severity of the Disease Course. The Sardinian Experience
- Celecoxib or naproxen treatment does not benefit depressive symptoms in persons aged 70 and over: findings from a randomized controlled trial
- Comparative Clinical Effectiveness of Nonsurgical Treatment Methods in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- Efficacy and safety of adalimumab by intra-articular injection for moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis: An open-label randomized controlled trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.