Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Analgesia plays an important role in the rehabilitation of total knee arthroplasty (THA), which ensures effective function exercise and improves perioperative life quality.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the analgesic effect and security of tramadol/acetaminophen combined with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia during perioperative THA.
METHODS: Totally 70 patients who received unilateral THA from Affiliated Provincial Hospital of Shandong University from September 2010 to September 2011 were divided into two groups. Patient in group A (multi-model analgesia group) were treated with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia and oral tramadol/acetaminophen for 7 days after operation. Patients in group B (control group) were only treated with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Visual analogue scale of the group A was lower than that of the group B at the first three days after operation (P < 0.05), but during the period of exercise, there was no statistical difference between the two groups. The range of motion and overall satisfaction with the treatment in the group A were significantly higher than those in the group B at postoperative 7 days (P < 0.05), and there was no statistical difference in the incidence of adverse reactions and severity between the two groups. The results showed that application of tramadol/acetaminophen combined with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia during perioperative THA can improve the efficiency of function exercise and satisfaction with the treatment, and without increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions.