Abstract
Introduction: An arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is frequently accompanied with severe postoperative pain. In this study, we evaluated postoperative analgesic effects of combined intra-articular treatment with ropivacaine and morphine in patients who had arthroscopic rotator cuff repair under general anesthesia.
Methods: Thirty-nine patients who underwent an elective arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were randomly divided into 3 groups according to intra-articular administration of drug after the end of surgery. Group A (n=12) received 10ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 0.1ml of normal saline. Group B (n=14) received 10ml of 0.75% ropivacaine and 0.1ml of normal saline. Group C (n=13) received 10ml of 0.75% ropivacaine and 1mg of morphine. The effectiveness of each drug was measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the amount of buprenorphine consumption at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24hrs after surgery.
Results: The [median(range)] values of VAS in groups B [25mm (0-80mm)] and C [20mm (0-60mm)] were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those in group A [45mm (10-100mm)] at 24hrs. The amounts of buprenorphine consumption in group B [0mg (0-0.2mg)] and group C [0mg (0-0.2mg)] were also significantly (p<0.01) less than that in group A [0.2mg (0-0.3mg)] at 6-24hrs. There were no significant differences in VAS and buprenorphine consumption between groups B and C.
Conclusions: An intra-articular administration of ropivacaine is useful for postoperative analgesia in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, while the combination of ropivacaine and morphine does not show any enhancement of the effect.
