The Journal of arthroplasty
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Reliability of common knee injection sites with low-volume injections.
This study's purpose was to evaluate the reliability of knee injection sites with low-volume (2-3 cc) injection typical of viscosupplementation. This was a prospective study of 131 knees randomly assigned to 3 injection groups before to knee arthroscopy: SM-superomedial, superolateral, and lateral joint line (LJL). ⋯ Injections then were graded at the time of arthroscopy as good, fair, or poor, depending on the intra-articular staining of MB. We conclude that a lateral joint line injection site may not be reliable for routine injections of low volumes into knees, because it results in good intra- articular delivery less than half of the time, with a high incidence of soft-tissue infiltration.
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Although low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is a widely used form of thromboprophylaxis in orthopedic surgery, concerns remain over the concomitant use of regional anesthesia (RA)/postoperative regional analgesia (PRA) stemming from reports in the 1990s of spinal hematoma associated with this combination. One of the objectives of the Second American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA) Consensus Conference was to address the safety of LMWH in combination with neuraxial anesthesia. The guidelines are designed in part to help orthopedic surgeons already using or contemplating the use of LMWH prophylaxis to avoid or minimize potential complications arising from its use with RA/PRA. Clinicians should consult the ASRA guidelines for recommendations on total daily dose, timing of the first postoperative dose, and dose schedule for anticoagulants used in conjunction with RA/PRA.