Comparison of the Effectiveness of Ultrasound-Guided Proximal, Mid, or Distal Adductor Canal Block after Knee Arthroscopy

OBJECTIVE: Adductor canal block has been used for effective post-operative analgesia; however, the optimal location of adductor canal block placement is still controversial. We aimed to assess the opioid consumption and pain intensity in patients undergoing proximal, mid, and distal adductor canal block after knee arthroscopy. METHODS: A total of 90 patients who had undergone an arthroscopic knee surgery and proximal, mid, or distal adductor canal block for post-operative analgesia were examined. All groups received 20 mL of bupivacaine (0.375%) to the adductor canal. Post-operative pain scores, tramadol consumption, Bromage scores, additional analgesic need, and other complications were recorded. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that proximal adductor canal block group significantly reduced opioid consumption compared to the mid-adductor canal block group (P < .001), and mid-adductor canal block group provided significantly decreased opioid consumption than the distal adductor canal block group (P = .004). The visual analog scale values were significantly lower in the proximal adductor canal block group compared to the mid-adductor canal block group at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours, except in resting visual analog scale values at 24 hours. When the proximal and distal groups were compared, visual analog scale values were significantly lower in the proximal adductor canal block group. The Bromage score was 0 in all groups at each follow-up point. Post-operative nausea was observed in only 3 (3.3%) patients, all of these patients were in the distal adductor canal block group. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-guided adductor canal block can be applied reliably at proximal, mid, and distal locations. The proximal adductor canal block approach provides significantly lower tramadol consumption and post-operative visual analog scale values than the mid- and distal adductor canal block groups.