Commentary: Postoperative Pain Management Strategies in Hip Arthroscopy

Abstract

Hip arthroscopy is a rapidly growing field due to its significant diagnostic and therapeutic value in treating a variety of hip disorders. Due to the lack of standardized protocol for pain management in these patients, adequate control of postoperative pain continues to be challenging. Several techniques have been employed to find a regimen that is effective at reducing postoperative pain, narcotic consumption and cost to the patient and healthcare system. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of important conclusions from the previous paper “Postoperative Pain Management Strategies in Hip Arthroscopy” and report on possible implications of the article. Recent literature supports the use of a multi-modal approach to managing postoperative pain in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. When a pre-and postoperative analgesic regimen is used in combination with peripheral nerve block or intraoperative anesthetic injection, patients experience less pain and postoperative narcotic consumption. Postoperative pain scores and opioid consumption are similar between the different techniques. However, postoperative complications are less in those receiving intra-articular (IA) injection or local anesthetic infiltration (LAI) compared to peripheral nerve blocks. Recent studies suggest that intraoperative techniques such as IA injection or LAI used in conjunction with a pre-and postoperative analgesic regimen may be the safest and most effective multi-modal strategy for reducing postoperative pain in these patients. In addition, omitting the use of peripheral nerve block may lead to decreased anesthesia procedural fees and operating room turnover time, resulting in decreased cost to the patient and increased efficiency of the facility.