Asakura Y, Tsuchiya H, Mori H, Yano T, Kanayama Y, Takagi H. Reduction of the incidence of development of venous thromboembolism by ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block in total knee arthroplasty.
Korean J Anesthesiol 2011;
61:382-7. [PMID:
22148086 PMCID:
PMC3229016 DOI:
10.4097/kjae.2011.61.5.382]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2011] [Revised: 04/24/2011] [Accepted: 05/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and the subsequent development of pulmonary embolism (PE) is a major cause of post-operative mortality in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We evaluated whether the addition of an ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block with general anesthesia affected the incidence in the development of VTE following TKA.
Methods
This was a retrospective non-randomized comparative study with patients assigned to groups based on the surgery date (pre-femoral nerve block versus post-femoral nerve block periods). All anesthesia and medical records of the patients who had undergone computer-navigated TKA in our facility between January 2009 and March 2010 were retrospectively reviewed.
Results
Forty patients were identified; 15 patients underwent computer-navigated TKA under general anesthesia alone (Group G) and 25 patients underwent surgery under general anesthesia combined with ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block (Group F). The incidence of development of VTE post-operatively was significantly lower in Group F (P = 0.037). Logistic regression analysis identified the use of a femoral nerve block as the most significant variable correlating with the incidence of post-operative development of VTE, and the odds ratio for VTE development in Group G was 3.12 (95% CI, 0.57-20.56).
Conclusions
We suggest the possibility that the addition of a femoral nerve block on general anesthesia may reduce the incidence of the development of VTE following TKA.
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