Effect of intra-articular injection of midazolam and/or bupivacaine on postoperative analgesia after arthroscopic knee surgery

BackgroundA variety of analgesic techniques have been used to manage postoperative pain after arthroscopic knee surgery. We investigated the hypothesis that intra-articular midazolam would result in lower pain score and reduced analgesic requirements.MethodsOne-hundred patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscectomy were allocated randomly to receive intra-articular 20 mL of isotonic saline containing 50 μg/kg midazolam (midazolam group (group M),the bupivacaine group (group B) received 0.25% (20 mL) bupivacaine, and the midazolam with bupivacaine group (group MB) received bupivacaine 0.25% and 50 μg/kg of midazolam in 20 mL. The postoperative analgesia was assessed using visual analog score at rest and during movement at 1/2 h, 1 h, 2 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h.ResultsPatients in group MB showed significantly lower visual analog scores, both at rest and during movement, long time to first postoperative analgesic request, as well as reduced total analgesic consumption than the other two groups.ConclusionIntraarticular administration of midazolam in combination with bupivacaine improves the quality of postoperative analgesia after arthroscopic meniscectomy.