A Comparison between Sub-Sartorial Canal Block and Femoral Nerve Block for Postoperative Analgesia after Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

Abstract Background Knee arthroscopy is a common orthopedic procedure worldwide, despite its minimally invasive nature compared to the traditional knee surgery, post-arthroscopic pain may be severe, and the patients generally require a significant amount of opioid-based analgesics after such procedures. Aim of the Work The aim of the study is to compare the analgesic efficacy and functional recovery of ACB and FNB in patients who have undergone knee arthroscopy. Patients and Methods In the period from April 2021 to October 2021 sixty patients who underwent Arthroscopic knee surgery were randomly allocated to one of two groups and comparative study was done. Group I (group FNB): (no. 30): Patients received Femoral Nerve Block (FNB) after spinal anaesthesia. Group II (group ACB): (no. 30): Patients received Sub-sartorial canal block (Adductor Canal Block) (ACB) after spinal anaesthesia. Results During our study, it was found that ACB is equally effective with FNB in patient satisfaction for post operative analgesia (NRS at 4 hrs, 8 hrs, 12 hrs, 16 hrs, 20 hrs and 24 hrs was non-significant as P value was 0.3, 0.29, 0.1, 0.5, 0.35, 0.87 respectively) but ACB is more effective than FNB in post operative ambulation and rehabilitation after arthroscopic knee surgery (ACB ambulated after 180.7 ± 23.6 mins in ACB and 241.2 ± 29.12 mins in FNB with pvalue <0.001). When compared to our study, it revealed that the group received FNB suffered from quadriceps weakness which interfered with postoperative rehabilitation and early ambulation although postoperative analgesia was equally effective in comparison to the group received ACB. Conclusion Our study concluded that Adductor Canal Block is more effective than Femoral Nerve Block in post operative ambulation and equally effective with femoral nerve block in patient satisfaction for post operative analgesia after arthroscopic knee surgery.