A prospective study of local infiltration analgesia for post-operative pain control following total hip replacement

Abstract

Objective: Local infiltration analgesia has gained popularity in recent past using mixture of drugs for various surgeries. This study was planned to assess the efficacy of local infiltration, which is a mixture of ropivacaine, clonidine, adrenaline, ketorolac, adrenalin and normal saline, for total hip replacement based on postoperative outcomes like Visual Analogue Score (VAS), mobilization time and hospital stay. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted with 30 patients of both the gender of all age groups, fit for total hip replacement. During the operative procedure local infiltration analgesia was infused at 3 stages. Patient was assessed for post operative pain based on visual analogue score, mobilization time and hospital stay. Results: Among 30 patients included in the study, 23 (76.7%) were male and 7 (23.3%) were female. Of total 30 patients 83% of the patients had a VAS of 0-3 at rest for 6th,12th, 18th and 24th hour intervals and on movements 80% of the patients had a VAS of 0-3 at rest for 12th, 18th and 24th hour intervals. The age of patients ranged from 17yrs to 83 years. The mean duration of hospital stay was 3.53 days. The mean time duration of first walk was 14.1467hrs. Conclusion: Local infiltration analgesia can be considered as safe practice in efficiently controlling pain after total hip arthroplasty.