Current Trends in Pediatric Spine Deformity Surgery: Multimodal Pain Management and Rapid Recovery

STUDY DESIGN: Narrative review. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to perform a review of the literature assessing the efficacy of opioid alternatives, multimodal pain regimens, and rapid recovery in pediatric spine surgery. METHODS: A literature search utilizing PubMed database was performed. Relevant studies from all the evidence levels have been included. Recommendations to decrease postoperative pain and expedite recovery after posterior spinal fusion in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients have been provided based on results of studies with the highest level of evidence. RESULTS: Refining perioperative pain management to lessen opioid consumption with multimodal regimens may be useful to decrease recovery time, pain, and complications. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen, gabapentin, neuraxial blockades, and local anesthesia alone offer benefits for postoperative pain management, but their combination in multimodal regimens and rapid recovery pathways may contribute to faster recovery time, improved pain levels, and lower reduction in total opioid consumption. CONCLUSION: A rapid recovery pathway using the multimodal approach for pediatric scoliosis correction may offer superior postoperative pain management and faster recovery than traditional opioid only pain protocols.