A Retrospective Comparison of Clinical Efficacy between Multimodal Analgesia and Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty

Background and Objectives: Adequate pain management during early rehabilitation is mandatory for improving the outcomes of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Conventional pain management, mainly comprising opioids and epidural analgesia, may result in certain adverse effects such as dizziness, nausea, and motor blockade. We proposed a multimodal analgesic (MA) strategy involving the use of peripheral nerve block (NB), periarticular injection (PAI), and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA). This study compared the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of the proposed MA strategy and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA). Materials and Methods: We enrolled 118 patients who underwent TKA under spinal anesthesia. The patients followed either the MA protocol or received PCEA after surgery. The analgesic effect was examined using a numerical rating scale (NRS). The adverse effects experienced by the patients were recorded. Results: A lower proportion of patients in the MA group experienced motor blockade (6.45% vs. 22.98%) compared to those in the PCEA group on the first postoperative day. Furthermore, a lower proportion of patients in the MA group experienced numbness (18.52% vs. 43.33%) than those in the PCEA group on the first postoperative day. Conclusions: The MA strategy can be recommended for reducing the occurrence of motor blockade and numbness in patients following TKA. Therefore, the MA strategy ensures early rehabilitation while maintaining adequate pain relief.