The research from the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital was presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2012 Annual Meeting. Scientists studied 150 patients who underwent unilateral total knee arthroplasty and were randomized to receive an intra-articular catheter that continuously delivered either 0.5 percent bupivacaine or a placebo solution of 0.9 percent saline for two days following the operation. Patients receiving bupivacaine had the least pain and lowest narcotics consumption.
“The study opens up a potential new option for better pain management post-surgery for our knee replacement patients,” study co-author Nittin Goyal, MD.
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