Authors : Kavya Mittimanj, Manjula Shenoy, Pramod Giri
DOI : 10.18231/j.ijca.2022.003
Volume : 9
Issue : 1
Year : 2022
Page No : 8-11
Background: Minimally invasive arthroscopic shoulder surgery is the treatment of choice for conditions such as rotator cuff injury, arthritis, and tendonitis. The incidence of severe postoperative pain in shoulder arthroscopies is as high as 45%. The aim of this study was to compare post-operative pain management in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgeries with and without anatomical landmark guided suprascapular nerve block.
Materials and Methods: A Retrospective observational study, data of 44 patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery. Out of the 44 patients, 22 patients had received blind suprascapular nerve block and the other 22 patients didn’t receive block. Pain scores (NRS), rescue analgesia for breakthrough pain, and the total fentanyl consumption were recorded for both the groups.
Results: The NRS value between GA+SSNB and GA only groups was statistically significant in immediate (0 hour) postoperative period only (p=0.048). There was no significant difference between the two groups at 1, 4, 8 and 12 hours. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of amount of fentanyl consumption over 12 hours (p=0.916) and number of demand doses of fentanyl (p=0.605)
Conclusion: Although the pain relief was better in the immediate postoperative period in patients who received SSNB, there was no difference in the pain over the first 24 hrs of the surgery. Post-operative fentanyl consumption was same in both the groups. We conclude that blind SSNB does not offer additional advantage in terms of pain relief in arthroscopic shoulder surgeries.
Keywords: Shoulder arthroscopy, Suprascapular nerve block, Analgesia.