Anesthesiological provision in hip and knee joint replacement (a scientific literature review)

Effective pain management during hip and knee replacement ensures the efficient and fast recovery of patients. Joint replacement surgery is typically accompanied by the use of general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia, despite certain risks, demonstrates better effectiveness compared to general anesthesia in hip and knee replacements. In other words, spinal anesthesia entails fewer perioperative complications. The addition of sedation and anesthesia monitoring during joint replacements using spinal anesthesia is of particular importance. After a successful surgical procedure of joint replacement, achieving adequate pain relief in the postoperative period is crucial. This is achieved through intravenous patient-controlled analgesia or epidural analgesia. A multimodal analgesia strategy combines analgesics with different mechanisms of action to enhance pain management. Intraoperative periarticular administration of multimodal agents is one of the most important procedures in the perioperative pain control during total hip arthroplasty. Peripheral nerve blocks have emerged recently as an alternative analgesic approach. During hip and knee replacements, various nerve blocks are utilized, including lumbar plexus block, fascia iliaca block, femoral and sciatic nerve block, adductor canal block, quadratus lumborum block, erector spinae plane block. Given the entire perioperative process, the use of preventive and multimodal therapy along with peripheral nerve blocks can help reduce the intensity of postoperative pain, thereby improving the functional status and quality of life for patients.