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AMBULATORY ANESTHESIA

Preoperative Interscalene Block for Elective Shoulder Surgery: Loss of Benefit over Early Postoperative Block After Patient Discharge to Home

W. Heinrich Wurm, MD^*,, Mercedes Concepcion, MD, Andrew Sternlicht, MD^,, Jean Marie Carabuena, MD, Gary Robelen, MD^,, Leonidas C. Goudas, MD PhD^*,, Scott A. Strassels, Pharm D^*,, and Daniel B. Carr, MD^*,

*Tufts-New England Medical Center; Tufts University School of Medicine; Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Daniel Carr, MD, Tufts-New England Medical Center, 750 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111. Address e-mail to daniel.carr{at}tufts.edu

We performed a randomized, prospective, parallel-group, open-label, multicenter trial to compare the effects of pre- versus postoperative interscalene block using levobupivacaine on postoperative pain and analgesic requirements. One-hundred-two outpatients scheduled for elective shoulder surgery were randomized to receive 30 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine either preoperatively (PRE group) or postoperatively (POST group). Analgesic outcome measures during the postoperative period were: (a) time to first request for analgesic medication after surgery, (b) pain intensity using the visual analog scale at rest and during arm movement, and (c) total analgesic consumption of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and opioids. The time to first analgesic request did not differ between treatment groups. However, mean maximum pain intensity scores during the day of surgery were significantly less for the PRE group than the POST group, both at rest (P = 0.001) and after movement (P = 0.004). The mean opioid administered during surgery was lower in the PRE than the POST group (P < 0.001). Levobupivacaine was well tolerated in both treatment groups, and no adverse reactions were related to this local anesthetic. In conclusion, preoperative interscalene block with levobupivacaine provided superior pain control for the first 12 h after surgery, but this benefit was not maintained during the week after discharge because the subjects assumed control of their own pain relief as outpatients.

IMPLICATIONS: Preoperative interscalene block with levobupivacaine provides safe and effective analgesia for same-day elective shoulder surgery, but the benefit of this one-time intervention does not persist.

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Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999