Local Infiltration Analgesia Vs. Interscalene Block in Total Shoulder Arthorplasty

Plain-language summary

Pain management following total shoulder arthroplasty is an important factor in determining patient outcomes and satisfaction. Interscalene brachial plexus blockade has been used successfully to minimize pain in the acute post-operative period. While shown to be effective, interscalene blockade has known complications. In addition, interscalene block has been shown to be significantly more expensive when compared to local anesthesia infiltration. Local anesthetics such as bupivacaine have long been used to assist in post-operative anesthesia. Recent reports have demonstrated local infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine to be similar to interscalene block in regards to patient analgesia even in the first 24 hours post operatively, with the added benefit of lower complications and costs. While most reports examine the efficacy of local infiltration with liposomal bupivacaine in the shoulder, other total joint literature has been positive regarding the use of local infiltration analgesic mixture for improved post-operative analgesia using a multi-modal approach to infiltrative analgesia. Despite these reports, the role and efficacy of local infiltration analgesia in shoulder arthroplasty is lacking. The purpose of the proposed study is to determine the efficacy and safety of local infiltration analgesia in shoulder arthroplasty in comparison to interscalene block through a randomized prospective clinical trial. Our hypothesis is that local infiltration analgesia will lead to postoperative pain scores, opiate consumption, and complication rate that are not significantly different from interscalene block.

Who can participate

What they're measuring

Trial details