Preemptive Local Anesthesia in Ankle Arthroscopy

Local anesthesia combined with intra-articular ropivacaine can provide satisfactory pain control in ankle arthroscopic surgery: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Local anesthesia (LA) is widely used in knee arthroscopic surgery but not in ankle arthroscopy.

OBJECTIVE

To understand the effectiveness and safety of LA combined with ropivacaine in pain control for ankle arthroscopy.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort.

METHODS

We retrospectively collected data for patients who underwent ankle arthroscopy from April 2012 to April 2017. Patients were grouped by anesthesia method: LA, LA with ropivacaine (LA+R), spinal anesthesia (SA), and SA with ropivacaine (SA+R). Intra- and postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) scores, complications, doses of supplemental pain medication, hospitalization cost and duration, and satisfaction with pain control during hospitalization were analyzed.

RESULTS

The study included 276 patients (LA: 93; LA+R: 124; SA: 31; SA+R: 28). The LA and LA+R groups had significantly higher intraoperative VAS scores (LA vs. SA, p = 0.001; LA vs. SA+R, p = 0.002; LA+R vs. SA, p = 0.00; LA+R vs. SA+R, p = 0.00), but fewer complications, than the SA and SA+R groups. The LA+R and SA+R groups had significantly better outcomes for postoperative pain control (LA vs. LA+R, p = 0.01; LA vs. SA+R, p = 0.01; SA vs. SA+R, p = 0.01; SA vs. LA+R, p = 0.03) and required less supplemental pain medication. Hospitalization cost was lower and duration shorter in the LA and LA+R groups than in the SA and SA+R groups. There was no significant difference in satisfaction among the four groups.

LIMITATIONS

This was a single-center retrospective and relatively short-term study.

CONCLUSIONS

LA+R which could be safely applied in ankle arthroscopy provided satisfactory pain control, reduced postoperative pain intensity, fewer complications, shorter hospital stay, and good cost-effectiveness. It can be safely applied in ankle arthroscopy for the specific patients with ankle osteoarthritis.

Effect of different anaesthetic techniques on gene expression profiles in patients who underwent hip arthroplasty

Objectives

To investigate the modulation of genes whose expression level is indicative of stress and toxicity following exposure to three anaesthesia techniques, general anaesthesia (GA), regional anaesthesia (RA), or integrated anaesthesia (IA).

Methods

Patients scheduled for hip arthroplasty receiving GA, RA and IA were enrolled at Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute of Bologna, Italy and the expression of genes involved in toxicology were evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected before (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), and on the third day (T2) after surgery in association with biochemical parameters.

Results

All three anaesthesia methods proved safe and reliable in terms of pain relief and patient recovery. Gene ontology analysis revealed that GA and mainly IA were associated with deregulation of DNA repair system and stress-responsive genes, which was observed even after 3-days from anaesthesia. Conversely, RA was not associated with substantial changes in gene expression.

Conclusions

Based on the gene expression analysis, RA technique showed the smallest toxicological effect in hip arthroplasty.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT03585647.

[Recent progress in foot and ankle surgery]

The article focuses on the recent progress in foot and ankle surgery, including the diagnosis of disease, treatment protocols, outcomes, and evaluation tools as well as other innovations. New and accurate diagnostic modalities and measurements have undergone a breakthrough. Diagnostic modalities tend to be simpler and less expensive. Measurement tools also change to simpler and more accurate. The accuracy and efficacy of surgery and the minimally invasive method have become more popular and important. New treatments and basic research have also made breakthroughs.