The investigators wanted to re-evaluate the effects of subacromial bupivacaine infusion after shoulder arthroscopy with standard surgical techniques, including rotator cuff operations. The investigators hypothesized that patients having 5.0 mg/ml bupivacaine infusion at a rate of 2 ml/h subacromially would need less opioids than patients receiving a placebo infusion.
Shoulder surgery has become a routine outpatient procedure. Previously shoulder surgery was associated with intense, occasionally severe postoperative pain and hence considerable use of opioids. Also arthroscopic shoulder surgery, especially rotator cuff procedures, may cause significant pain resulting sometimes in inpatient admission. Subacromial local anaesthetic infusion as a part of a multimodal approach is one commonly used modality to pain relief after shoulder surgery. Nevertheless, it has been criticized recently for its poor benefits and possible adverse effects. On the whole, the scientific evidence of the advantages of local anaesthetic infusions is inconclusive.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
90
bupivacaine 5 mg/ml infusion 2 ml/h 48 h
Turku University Hospital and University of Turku
Turku, Finland
The consumption of analgesics (oxycodone)
Time frame: It was recorded on a daily basis during the first three days
The intensity of pain
Time frame: During the study the pain assessments were recorded 15 min before operation, 15 min, 6, 12 and 18 h after the beginning of the operation and on the first and third postoperative day
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