Study design: This study enrolled patients in from a single center who underwent primary spinal fusion procedure and divided them into two groups (group-control study).
Purpose: Good local infiltration can reduce postoperative analgesic requirements and enable expedited discharge. Administration of a combination of levobupivacaine (200 mg/100 mL, 0.9% normal saline), ketorolac (30 mg), and adrenaline (0.5 mg) as a wound infiltrate is recommended at an optimum combination.
Overview of literature: There is currently no consensus on the optimum intraoperative local infiltration of spinal surgery patients undergoing operative fusion.
Methods: Patients who were enrolled in two spinal centers (over 24 months) undergoing primary spinal fusion procedures were allocated into two groups, comparing the type of local infiltration used at the time of the procedure. Group 1 received the combination of levobupivacaine (200 mg), ketorolac (30 mg), and adrenaline (0.5 mg), while group 2 received other types of local anesthetics. Primary outcome measures include patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) use, morphine consumption, and length of hospital stay. Secondary outcome measure are as follows: days of physiotherapy, pain score, side effects, and complications.
Results: There are a total of 140 patients enrolled. Seventy-five patients enrolled were allocated to group 1, receiving the study combination, and 65 patients were assigned in group 2, receiving other local infiltrations. All primary outcome measures (consumption of morphine, use of PCA, and length of stay) were significantly higher in group 2 than the study combination (p<0.05). The secondary outcomes of pain scores and days of physiotherapy values were also significantly higher in group 2 (p<0.05). Patient satisfaction questionnaires gave significantly better results in group 1 (p<0.05). There were no significant statistical differences with regard to any postoperative complications between the two groups.
Conclusions: Our data suggest that the studied wound infiltration is a safe and feasible option that could provide good postoperative pain control without significant side effects. It also allowed to reduce dependence of opioids and PCA, earlier postoperative mobilization, lower pain scores postoperatively, and reduced hospital stay.
Keywords: Pain control; Pain scores; Postoperative management; Spinal fusion; Spinal surgery; Wound infiltration.