Comparative Study between Ultrasound Guided Genicular Nerve Block versus Adductor Canal Block for Postoperative Analgesia after Total Knee Replacement

Background: Pain is a challenging aspect to manage after total knee replacement (TKR). The introduction of ultrasound (US)-guided regional anaesthesia techniques, such as nerve blocks, has shown promise in managing postoperative pain following TKR surgery. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the genicular nerve block (GNB) and adductor canal block (ACB) for managing postoperative pain following TKR. Methods: The participants in this prospective randomized, double-blind study ranged in age from 40 to 75., both sexes, American Society of Anaesthesiologists II, III, and IV physical status, body mass index < 40 kg/m2, and patients subjected to unilateral TKR. Cases were distributed into two equal groups. We performed US-guided GNB in Group A and US-guided ACB in Group B. Results: Group A experienced a significantly lower time to first request of rescue analgesia, total morphine consumption and visual analog scale than Group B (P <0.05). Leg weakness and patient satisfaction were insignificantly different between both groups. Conclusion: Compared with the ACB block, the US-guided GNB enhanced analgesic outcomes without compromising functional mobility following TKR by reducing pain score and total opioid consumption and delaying the time to first rescue of analgesia.