Auriculotherapy effect on pain and function following knee Arthroscopic Menisectomy: A randomized prospective study

Purpose: Knee arthroscopy is one of the most frequent procedures in orthopedic surgery.It has a large range of indications.Post-operative pain is one complication and it is managed with analgesics sometimes with weak opioids.It has been proven that auriculotherapy is effi cient in decreasing post-operative pain for many orthopedic surgeries, in particular knee and hip arthroplasty.We studied the interest of auriculotherapy for post-operative pain after knee arthroscopy.Methods: This randomized single blind prospective study was conducted on 40 patients who presented to Paul d'Egine Private Hospital in Paris for symptomatic, traumatic or degenerative meniscal lesions judged irreparable on knee MRI, and require knee arthroscopy for partial menisectomy.32 patients were followed for one week post operatively.In the group of patients who received auriculotherapy, ear cartography and the pose of semi-permanent needles were done in the pre-induction period.Evaluation was done using a questionnaire fi lled by the patient containing a pain score (VNS score), daily dose of analgesics, and a subjective score for the knee (Koos subjective score). Results:The total mean age was 41.25 years (18-75 years).Both groups had comparable mean age (41.12 Vs. 41.37 years).The t test was used to estimate the difference between the 2 groups by calculating mean changes in each group from the start till the end of the study (VNS 0 and VNS 7).Results were statistically signifi cant with a p value of 0.049797.Results were not statistically signifi cant for the Koos subjective score (0.058915).Conclusion: Knee arthroscopy for menisectomy is a simple and effi cient procedure.Post-operative pain is usually managed with analgesics, sometimes with opioids.We conducted this randomized prospective study and concluded that the VNS scores were signifi cantly improved in patients treated with auriculotherapy, but functional score showed no signifi cant improvement.