Newswise — Use of chloroprocaine for spinal anesthesia in ambulatory knee arthroscopy is associated with a shorter time to complete recovery from motor blockade, onset of sensory block, and full regression of sensory block compared with prilocaine, according to the results of a study from Zaans Medical Center in Zaandam, Netherlands.
Elsbeth Wesselink and Marcel de Leeuw received a Best of Meeting Award for their abstract of the study, “Chloroprocaine Versus Prilocaine for Spinal Anaesthesia in Ambulatory Knee Arthroscopy: A Double-Blind Randomized Trial,” which will be presented on Thursday, April 11, 2019, during the 44th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting in Las Vegas, NV.
Knee arthroscopy is a surgical procedure used to diagnose and treat a wide range of knee problems that allows doctors to view the knee joint without making a large incision. It can be performed under regional anesthesia using numbs below the waist. A short-acting spinal anesthetic facilitates quick recovery of motor function and will facilitate unassisted ambulation.
To compare the effects of spinal chloroprocaine and spinal prilocaine on motor blockade in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy, the researchers conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind single-center study of 150 patients. The patients were randomized to receive 40 mg of either preservative-free plain 2-chloroprocaine 1% or hyperbaric prilocaine 2%.
Chloroprocaine resulted in a shorter time to complete recovery from motor blockade compared with prilocaine (60 versus 75 minutes), faster onsets of sensory block (2 versus 4 minutes), full regression of sensory block (120 versus 165 minutes), and discharge home (3.7 versus 4.7 hours). Use of medication for post-operative pain management and patient satisfaction scores did not differ between the groups.
“The results confirm earlier observations that both short-acting spinal anesthetics chloroprocaine and prilocaine result in adequate anaesthesia with quick recovery of sensory and motor functions for knee arthroscopy in the ambulatory setting,” the researchers reported.
They concluded that their findings may favor the use of 40 mg chloroprocaine over 40 mg prilocaine because faster recovery improves patient flow, which has both clinical and economic benefits for patients and institutions.
The 44th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting will be held April 11–13, 2019, in Las Vegas, NV. The conference brings together worldwide experts in acute pain medicine to discuss standard and novel techniques, new pain targets, and strategies to address the opioid epidemic.
Meeting Link: 44th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting, April 11–13, 2019
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