Impact of self-coiling catheters for continuous popliteal sciatic block on postoperative pain level and dislocation rate: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Dislocation of catheters within the tissue is a challenge in continuous regional anesthesia. A novel self-coiling catheter design is available and has demonstrated a lower dislocation rate in a cadaver model. The dislocation rate and effect on postoperative pain of these catheters in vivo has yet to be determined and were the subjects of this investigation. METHODS: After ethics committee approval 140 patients undergoing elective distal lower limb surgery were enrolled in this prospective randomized controlled trial. Preoperatively, patients were randomly assigned and received either the conventional (n = 70) or self-coiling catheter (n = 70) for ultrasound-guided popliteal sciatic nerve block in short axis view and by the in-plane approach from lateral to medial. The primary outcome was pain intensity after surgery and on the following three postoperative days. Secondary outcomes investigated were dislocation rate in situ determined by sonography, catheter movement visible from outside, opioid consumption as well as leakage at the puncture site. RESULTS: All catheters were successfully inserted. The study population of self-coiling catheters had significantly lower mean numeric rating scale values than the reference cohort on the first (p = 0.01) and second postoperative days (p < 0.01). Sonographic evaluation demonstrated, 42 standard catheters (60%) and 10 self-coiling catheters (14.3%) were dislocated in situ within the first three postoperative days. The externally visible movement of the catheters at insertion site did not differ significantly between groups through the third postoperative day. The opioid consumption was significantly lower in the self-coiling catheter group on the day of surgery and on the second and third postoperative days (p = 0.04, p = 0.03 and p = 0.04, respectively). CONCLUSION: The self-coiling catheter offers a better postoperative pain control and a lower dislocation rate within the tissue when blocking the popliteal sciatic nerve compared to a conventional catheter. Further trials in large patient cohorts are warranted to investigate the potential beneficial effects of self-coiling catheters for other localisations and other application techniques. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) on 08/04/2020 (DRKS00020938, retrospectively registered).