Efficacy of regional anesthesia in hip preservation surgeries: a systematic review

The purpose of this study was to review the current literature on perioperative pain management in hip arthroscopy, periacetabular osteotomy and surgical hip dislocation. A systematic review of the literature published from January 2000 to December 2022 was performed. Selection criteria included published randomized controlled trials, prospective reviews and retrospective reviews of all human subjects undergoing hip preservation surgery. Exclusion criteria included case reports, animal studies and studies not reporting perioperative pain control protocols. Thirty-four studies included hip arthroscopy in which peripheral nerve blocks were associated with a significant reduction in pain score (P = 0.037) compared with general anesthesia alone. However, no pain control modality was associated with a significant difference in postanesthesia care unit opioid use (P = 0.127) or length of stay (P = 0.251) compared with general anesthesia alone. Falls were the most common complication reported, accounting for 37% of all complications. Five studies included periacetabular osteotomy and surgical hip dislocation in which peripheral nerve blocks were associated with an 18% reduction in pain on postoperative Day 2, a 48% reduction in cumulative opioid use on postoperative Day 2 and a 40% reduction in hospital stay. Due to the low sample size of the periacetabular osteotomy and surgical hip dislocation studies, we were unable to determine the significant difference between the means. Due to significant between-study heterogeneity, additional studies with congruent outcome measures need to be conducted to determine the efficacy of regional anesthesia in hip arthroscopy, periacetabular osteotomy and surgical hip dislocation.