Short-term Outcomes in Pediatric Patients Managed with Peripheral Nerve Blockade for Arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and/or Meniscus Surgeries

Introduction Peripheral nerve blockade (PNB) can be a useful component of a multimodal analgesia approach in managing pain after knee arthroscopy. However, the impact of PNB and short-term recovery in pediatric patients, particularly adolescents, who underwent knee arthroscopy for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and/or meniscus surgery (repair or resection) has not been well characterized. This prospective study presents observational data on short-term patient outcomes and side effects for 72 hours following discharging home of pediatric patients who underwent arthroscopic ACL and/or meniscus procedures with PNB. Methods This is a single-center, single-surgeon prospective observational study conducted over a three-year period. We characterized 72-hour postoperative outcomes including pain scores, return of sensation to the affected limb, analgesic use [nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids], readmission rate, and activities of daily living (ADL) via telephone survey. In addition, retrospective chart review was conducted to obtain perioperative and anesthesia details. Results for surgery groups were analyzed using descriptive and Pearson correlations using the SPSS version 24 (IBM Corp. Released 2016. IBM SPSS Statistics for Mac, Version 24.0. Armonk, NY, USA). Results We collected data on 47 patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with or without meniscus surgery (18/47, 38.3%) or meniscus surgery only (29/47, 61.7%). At 72 hours postsurgery, there were no readmissions or complications related to pain. Median-reported pain scores were 2.5 and 5.0 for the ACL and meniscus groups, respectively. A majority of patients continued to require opioids (45/47, 95.7%) and NSAIDs (46/47, 97.9%) at 72 hours postsurgery, but the number of daily opioid doses taken decreased with each day postoperatively. Over 93% of the patients could ambulate and shower at 72 hours postsurgery. Conclusions Regional nerve block appears to be an effective and safe analgesic strategy for pediatric arthroscopic ACL and meniscus procedures, with no short-term complications or readmissions related to pain in our cohort. Future prospective investigation is needed to characterize long-term pain outcomes in this surgical population.