Post-operative Pain Relief following Hip Arthroscopy - A Retrospective Analysis

Background: Since Hip arthroscopy is gaining popularity in treating various hip pathologies, ensuring effective post-operative pain management is imperative.Our retrospective study aimed to discern variations in post-operative opioid consumption, pain scores and timing of rescue analgesia following hip arthroscopy, based on the anaesthesia type employed during the procedure.Methods: In this retrospective chart review of 73 consecutive hip arthroscopic procedures between January 2019 and March 2023, 61 patients received general anaesthesia (GA) with or without regional blocks and 12 patients received spinal anaesthesia (SA) with or without adjuvants.Primary outcomes measured were cumulative postoperative morphine consumption and time for rescue analgesics.Other secondary parameters reviewed were demographics, American Physical status (ASA) class, chronic pain history, anaesthetic techniques, surgical diagnosis, post-op pain scores, type and dose of analgesic medications prescribed and adverse events.Results: Our analysis revealed no significant differences between spinal and GA groups in terms of primary & secondary outcomes.Conclusion: Type of anaesthesia does not appear to influence post-operative pain scores and analgesic consumption.Utilizing multimodal analgesia featuring local anaesthetic infiltration as core component seems to offer advantages.A larger, adequately powered, prospective study is warranted considering more surgery-specific & patient-specific outcomes.