Continuous Femoral Nerve Blockade versus Epidural Analgesia for Postoperative Pain Relief in Knee Surgeries: A Randomized Controlled Study

BACKGROUND: Peripheral neural blockade provides effective analgesia with potentially less side effects than an epidural blockade. The present study was undertaken to compare continuous femoral nerve blockade (CFNB) with continuous epidural analgesia (CEA) for postoperative pain control in knee surgeries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients belonging to the American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I and II scheduled for various knee surgeries under spinal anesthesia were enrolled in this study. They were randomly divided into two equal groups of thirty patients each. The Group I patients received CFNB and in the Group II patients epidural catheter was placed preoperatively. Postoperatively, continuous infusion with 0.0625% bupivacaine and fentanyl 2 μg/ml started at 5 ml/h for 72 h in both the groups. Data on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores, hemodynamic changes, side effects at 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h and requirement of analgesic doses for the first 24 h of the surgery were noted. RESULTS: In both the groups, pain was well controlled, mean VAS of pain were 0.2, 0.6, 2.47, 2.07, 2.73, 1.5, 1.43, 1.37, and 1.3 for femoral and 0.13, 0.93, 2.57, 2.17, 2.33, 1.6, 1.43, 1.30, and 1.33 for epidural group during 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h which was not statistically significant. Hemodynamics were stable throughout in both the groups. The patients in CEA had more incidences of pruritus and urinary retention. CONCLUSION: CFNB provides postoperative analgesia equivalent to that obtained with a CEA but with fewer side effects.