Effectiveness of continuous femoral nerve block for pain relief after total knee arthroplasty: comparison with epidural patient-controlled analgesia and periarticular injection

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical outcomes among three analgesic techniques, continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB), epidural patient-controlled analgesia (EPCA) and periarticular injection (PAI), in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: This retrospective case–control study enrolled patients that underwent TKA. Visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores, sleep disturbance, additional opioid consumption and incidence of opioid-related side-effects were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were categorized into three groups: EPCA (group A, n = 40), PAI (group B, n = 40) and CFNB (group C, n = 40). Group C had significantly lower VAS pain scores than groups A and B at 8, 12 and 24 h after TKA. There were no significant differences in VAS pain scores among the three groups from 48 h after TKA. Sleep quality on the first day after surgery was significantly better in group C than in groups A and B. Additional opioid consumption was significantly lower in the group C than in the groups A and B. Group C showed a lower rate of opioid-related side-effects than groups A and B. CONCLUSION: CFNB was a more effective additional analgesic technique than EPCA or PAI for acute postoperative pain control within 24 h of TKA.