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Is Pain After TKA Better with Periarticular Injection or Intrathecal Morphine?

  • Clinical Research
  • Published:
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

Background

Postoperative pain after TKA is a major concern to patients. The best technique to control pain is still controversial. Intrathecal morphine or periarticular multimodal drug injection are both commonly used and both appear to provide better pain control than placebo, but it is unclear whether one or the other provides better pain control.

Questions/purposes

We asked whether intrathecal morphine or periarticular multimodal drug injection provides better pain control with fewer adverse events.

Methods

In a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial we randomized 57 patients with osteoarthritic knees who underwent TKAs into two groups. Group M (n = 28) received 0.2 mg intrathecal morphine while Group I (n = 29) received periarticular multimodal drug injection. Postoperative pain was managed with patient-controlled analgesia using ketorolac. The outcomes were pain levels, the amount of analgesic drug used, and drug-related side effects. Patients and evaluators were blinded. All patients were followed up to 3 months.

Results

We found no difference in postoperative pain level, analgesia drug consumption, blood loss in drain, and knee function. More patients in Group M required antiemetic (19 [69%] versus 10 [34%]) and antipruritic drugs (10 [36%] versus three [10%]) than patients in Group I.

Conclusions

The two techniques provide no different pain control capacity. The periarticular multimodal drug injection was associated with lower rates of vomiting and pruritus.

Level of Evidence

Level I, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all participants for providing the data used in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Thammasat University, 99 Moo 18, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand

    Nattapol Tammachote MD, MSc, Supakit Kanitnate MD & Phonthakorn Panichkul MD

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand

    Sudsayam Manuwong MD

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Burapha University, Chonburi, Thailand

    Thanasak Yakumpor MD

Authors
  1. Nattapol Tammachote MD, MSc
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  2. Supakit Kanitnate MD
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  3. Sudsayam Manuwong MD
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  4. Thanasak Yakumpor MD
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  5. Phonthakorn Panichkul MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nattapol Tammachote MD, MSc.

Additional information

Each author certifies that he or she, or a member of his or her immediate family, has no funding or commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request.

Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the human protocol for this investigation, that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research, and that informed consent for participation in the study was obtained.

This study was performed at Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand.

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Tammachote, N., Kanitnate, S., Manuwong, S. et al. Is Pain After TKA Better with Periarticular Injection or Intrathecal Morphine?. Clin Orthop Relat Res 471, 1992–1999 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-013-2826-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-013-2826-9

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