Less opioid use, faster pediatric knee surgery recovery with regional anesthesia, study finds

An ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia technique, called femoral nerve block, leads to less opioid use among pediatric knee surgery patients and allows the majority of patients to go home within hours of surgery, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics.

Advertisement

Researchers reviewed records of 376 patients, aged seven to 18 years old, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Of these patients, 131 received a femoral nerve block in addition to general anesthesia, while 245 received general anesthesia alone.

The study found that patients who received the combined anesthesia reported less pain, required less pain medication after surgery and had shorter hospital stays when compared to patients who had general anesthesia alone.

More articles on anesthesia:

6 do’s and don’ts for anesthesiologists from an otolaryngologist
Dr. Jessie Coleman joins Pampa Regional Medical Center

MEDNAX acquires Associated Anesthesiologists of Joliet, 3 related entities

Advertisement

Next Up in Anesthesia

  • Workforce shortages, reimbursement declines and costly inefficiencies were some of the biggest anesthesia-related issues for ASC leaders in 2025. While…

  • As physician employment accelerates, anesthesia leaders say the biggest pressure points are structural rather than clinical. Anesthesiologist Jason Hennes, MD,…

  • In 2025, national anesthesia organizations recognized clinicians and researchers whose work is influencing patient safety, health equity, education and policy. …

Advertisement

Comments are closed.