Efficacy and safety of a subacromial continuous ropivacaine infusion for post-operative pain management following arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery: A protocol for a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Major shoulder surgery often results in severe post-operative pain and a variety of interventions have been developed in an attempt to address this. The continuous slow infusion of a local anaesthetic directly into the operative site has recently gained popularity but it is expensive and as yet there is little conclusive evidence that it provides additional benefits over other methods of post-operative pain management.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This will be a randomised, placebo-controlled trial involving 158 participants. Following diagnostic arthroscopy, all participants will undergo arthroscopic subacromial decompression with or without rotator cuff repair, all operations performed by a single surgeon. Participants, the surgeon, nurses caring for the patients and outcome assessors will be blinded to treatment allocation. All participants will receive a pre-incision bolus injection of 20 mls of ropivacaine 1% into the shoulder and an intra-operative intravenous bolus of parecoxib 40 mg. Using concealed allocation participants will be randomly assigned to active treatment (local anaesthetic ropivacaine 0.75%) or placebo (normal saline) administered continuously into the subacromial space by an elastomeric pump at 5 mls per hour post-operatively. Patient controlled opioid analgesia and oral analgesics will be available for breakthrough pain. Outcome assessment will be at 15, 30 and 60 minutes, 2, 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 hours, and 2 or 4 months for decompression or decompression plus repair respectively.</p> <p>The primary end point will be average pain at rest over the first 12-hour post-operative period on a verbal analogue pain score. Secondary end points will be average pain at rest over the second 12-hour post-operative period, maximal pain at rest over the first and second 12-hour periods, amount of rescue medication used, length of inpatient stay and incidence of post-operative adhesive capsulitis.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The results of this trial will contribute to evidence-based recommendations for the effectiveness of pain management modalities following arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery. If the local anaesthetic pain-buster provides no additional benefits over placebo then valuable resources can be put to better use in other ways.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Australian Clinical Trials Register Number ACTR12606000195550</p

Comparative evaluation of the tendon-bone interface contact pressure in different single- versus double-row suture anchor repair techniques

The aim of the study was to evaluate the time zero contact pressure over a defined rotator cuff footprint using different repair and stitch techniques in an established sheep model. Forty fresh-frozen sheep shoulders were randomly assigned to five repair groups: single-row repair using simple stitches (SRA-s), single-row repair using horizontal mattress stitches (SRA-m), and single-row repair using arthroscopic Mason-Allen stitches (SRA-ama). Double-row repair was either performed with a combination of simple and horizontal mattress stitches (DRA-sm) or with arthroscopic Mason-Allen/horizontal mattress stitches (DRA-amam). Investigations were performed using a pressure-sensitive film system. The average contact pressure and pressure pattern were measured for each group. Contact pressure was lowest in SRA-m followed by SRA-s. SRA-ama showed highest contact pressure of all single-row treatment groups (P < 0.05). DRA-amam presented the highest overall contact pressure (P < 0.05), whereas DRA-sm exerted contact pressure equal to that of SRA-ama. Both double-row techniques showed the most expanded pressure pattern. Average contact pressures for the more complex single- and double-row techniques utilizing arthroscopic Mason-Allen stitches were greater than were those of the repair techniques utilizing simple and horizontal mattress stitches. However, the contact pattern between the anchors could be increased by using the double-row technique, resulting in more footprint coverage compared to patterns utilizing the single-row techniques. These results support the use of the more complex arthroscopic Mason-Allen stitches and may improve the environment for healing of the repaired rotator cuff tendon

Liposomal extended-release bupivacaine for postsurgical analgesia

Mark Lambrechts,1,2 Michael J O&rsquo;Brien,2 Felix H Savoie,2 Zongbing You1&ndash;31Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine, 3Tulane Cancer Center, Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, Tulane Center for Aging, Tulane Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USAAbstract: When physicians consider which analgesia to use postsurgery, the primary goal is to relieve pain with minimal adverse side effects. Bupivacaine, a commonly used analgesic, has been formulated into an aqueous suspension of multivesicular liposomes that provide long-lasting analgesia for up to 72 hours, while avoiding the adverse side effects of opioids. The increased efficacy of liposomal extended-release bupivacaine, compared to bupivacaine hydrochloride, has promoted its usage in a variety of surgeries including hemorrhoidectomy, bunionectomy, inguinal hernia repair, total knee arthroplasty, and augmentation mammoplasty. However, like other bupivacaine formulations, the liposomal extended-release bupivacaine does have some side effects. In this brief review, we provide an update of the current knowledge in the use of bupivacaine for postsurgical analgesia. Keywords: bupivacaine, liposome, analgesia, side effects, efficacy, patient satisfactio

A comparison of functional outcomes in patients undergoing revision arthroscopic repair of massive rotator cuff tears with and without arthroscopic suprascapular nerve release

Felix H Savoie III,1 Mark Zunkiewicz,2 Larry D Field,2 William H Replogle,3 Michael J O&rsquo;Brien1 1Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA; 2Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, Jackson, MS, USA; 3Department of Family Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA Purpose: This study was designed to compare functional outcomes in patients undergoing revision repair of massive rotator cuff tears (retracted medial to the glenoid) with Goutallier Grade 4 atrophy and concomitant release of the suprascapular nerve to a similar group of patients with Grade 3 atrophy undergoing revision rotator cuff repair (RTCR) without nerve release. We hypothesized that patients undergoing nerve release would have more favorable functional outcomes as measured by the Modified University of California at Los Angeles shoulder rating scale (UCLA). Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients underwent revision repair of massive rotator cuff tears with release of the suprascapular nerve at the suprascapular notch. We compared total preoperative, postoperative, and change in UCLA score in these patients to a similar group of 22 patients undergoing revision RTCR without suprascapular nerve release. Additionally, UCLA subscores between the two groups were compared preoperatively and at final follow-up. Results: The average preoperative UCLA score in the nerve-release group was 7.91, and final follow-up average was 27.86; average 3.05 grades of strength were recovered. In the comparison group, average preoperative UCLA score was 11.77, and final follow-up average was 29.09; average 1.32 grades of strength were recovered. The average preoperative UCLA score was significantly worse in the nerve-release group (P=0.007). The average postoperative UCLA score was not significantly different (P=0.590) between the groups, indicating a better improvement in the nerve-release group with significantly greater improvement in active forward flexion, strength, and pain relief. Conclusion: Patients who underwent concomitant release of the suprascapular nerve during revision RTCR had greater overall improvement as noted in pain relief, active forward flexion, and strength, than a comparable group without nerve release. Keywords: muscle atrophy, suprascapular nerve release, revision rotator cuff repair, atrophy&nbsp