Femoral and sciatic nerve blocks for total knee arthroplasty postoperative analgesia. A systematic review of current evidence

The combination of postoperative pain from total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and the pain associated with early ambulation and rehabilitation creates significant issues as to how to manage both the acute pain and the need for rehabilitation. Conventional methods of simply providing opioid analgesia are moderately effective, however they do not have as superior analgesia effect when compared to femoral and sciatic nerve block. A thorough review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of combined femoral and sciatic nerve blocks in adults undergoing TKA. The evidence demonstrated that perioperative use of femoral and sciatic nerve blocks are effective in reducing postoperative pain, decreasing opioid consumption, decreasing length of stay, improved inpatient rehabilitation and improved patient satisfaction.