• Lauren A Beaupre, D Bill C Johnston, Sherry Dieleman, and Ban Tsui.
• Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G4, Canada. lauren.beaupre@ualberta.ca
• ScientificWorldJournal. 2012 Jan 1;2012:273821.

PurposeTo compare preemptive multimodal analgesia (PMMA) without femoral nerve blocks (FNB) to PMMA including FNB following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).MethodsIn a prospective, controlled pilot study, subjects with noninflammatory arthritis undergoing TKA and a short postoperative stay received either PMMA + FNB (FNB group; n = 19) or PMMA only (PMMA group; n = 20). No preoperative group differences were noted. Evaluations occurred in hospital and at 2, 6, and 12 weeks postoperatively. The primary outcome (knee flexion) was measured on day two postoperatively. Rehabilitation indices, pain, analgesic use, and length of stay (LOS) were also measured.ResultsAll subjects completed the study. The only significant group differences were quadriceps motor blocks in the FNB group (P < 0.001). No significant differences were noted in ROM, pain levels, analgesic use, or hospital LOS.ConclusionOther than the quadriceps motor block, no group differences were noted; both achieved satisfactory analgesia. Best postoperative pain management strategies when following a short hospital stay program are still unclear.

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