Evidence based Orthopedics: Is Intra-Articular Multimodal Drug Injection Effective in Pain Management After Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Is Intra-Articular Multimodal Drug Injection Effective in Pain Management After Total Knee Arthroplasty?

286 patients who were scheduled to undergo simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were randomzied to receive injection of intra-articular multimodal drugs in one knee and normal saline solution as a placebo in the contralateral knee. The results of the study indicated that patients who received the multimodal drugs displayed similar levels of pain, satisfaction, range of motion, and blood loss in comparison to those who received placebo. Therefore, the effects of the drug were minimal.

J Arthroplasty; 2011; 26(7):1095-1099