Anesthesia Method, Tourniquet Use, and Persistent Postsurgical Pain after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prespecified Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial

ConclusionsThe type of anesthesia (spinalvs. general) or tourniquet use has no clinically important effect on persistent postsurgical pain after total knee arthroplasty.Editor ’s PerspectiveWhat We Already Know about This TopicPersistent pain after total knee arthroplasty is common and adversely affects outcomesThe choice of anesthesia and use of a tourniquet during knee arthroplasty may have an impact on complication rates, but the effects on persistent pain are poorly knownWhat This Article Tells Us That Is NewIn a secondary analysis of a study involving 404 patients, no clinically important differences in pain scores 1 yr after arthroplasty were found between the spinal and general anesthesia groupsIn the same study, no clinically meaningful differences in 1-yr pain scores were found between the no-tourniquet and tourniquet use groups
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research