HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by McCarty, E. C. Articles by Higgins, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by McCarty, E. C. Articles by Higgins, M. Related Collections Reconstruction Arthroscopy

Does Intraarticular Morphine Improve Pain Control with Femoral Nerve Block after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?

Eric C. McCarty, MD^*,,, Kurt P. Spindler, MD^*,, Ed Tingstad, MD^*,, Yu Shyr, PhD and Michael Higgins, MD^||

^* Vanderbilt Sports Medicine Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Departments of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Nashville, Tennessee
Biostatistics, Nashville, Tennessee
^|| Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Eric C. McCarty, MD, Vanderbilt Sports Medicine Center, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

In a prospective, randomized, double-blinded manner, we compared the effects of a preoperative intraarticular injection of morphine (5 mg) or a placebo, combined with a postoperative femoral nerve block, on postoperative pain. Sixty-two patients underwent an arthroscopically assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using patellar tendon autograft under general anesthesia. No statistical difference between the two groups was evident in terms of age, sex, weight, operative time, volume of bupivacaine received with the femoral nerve block, or tourniquet use or tourniquet time. Comparison of visual analog scale pain scores revealed no statistical difference between the groups at any point after the operation. Both groups had a significant decrease in visual analog scale scores after the femoral nerve block, with the lowest mean values 4 hours after the operation (morphine group, 1.7; placebo group, 1.4), and continuing to be significantly less through 24 hours (morphine, 2.6; placebo, 2.9). No significant difference in postoperative narcotic medication use was evident in the recovery room or at home. A post hoc power analysis revealed that the study power reached 87%, with a significance level of 5%. The postoperative femoral nerve block was effective, and intraarticular morphine provided no additional benefit.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. W. Woods, D. P. O'Connor, and C. T. Calder Continuous Femoral Nerve Block Versus Intra-articular Injection for Pain Control After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Am. J. Sports Med., August 1, 2006; 34(8): 1328 - 1333. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]