A non-inferiority study of dexmedetomidine combined with local infiltration on early postoperative quality of life in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy
LI Cai-xia
TU Yan-ling
CHEN Shan-gui
LU Yao
LIU Xue-sheng
CHENG Xin-qi
Abstract：Objective To evaluate the effects of continuous dexmedetomidine infusion combined with local infil-tration anesthesia versus adductor canal block on early postoperative quality of life in patients undergoing day-case knee arthroscopy.Methods Forty patients scheduled for elective outpatient knee arthroscopy were randomly assigned to two groups:dexmedetomidine plus local infiltration group(D group)and adductor canal block group(N group).In the D group,10 mL of 0.25％ropivacaine was administered via intra-articular infiltration followed by a continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine at 0.04 μg/(kg·h)until discharge.In the N group,10 mL of 0.25％ropivacaine was administered under ultrasound guidance for adductor canal block,followed by a continuous infusion of equivalent volume normal saline.The primary outcome was EQ-5D-5L score at 24 hours postoperatively.Secondary outcomes included Athens Insomnia Scale(AIS)scores,visual analogue scale(VAS)pain scores,incidence of lower limb soreness/numbness,and postoper-ative nausea and vomiting(PONV)within 24 hours.Results No significant differences were observed between groups in theEQ-5D-5L total and domain scores at 24 hours postoperatively(P＞0.05).AIS scores on postoperative days 1,2,and 3 were significantly lower in the D group compared to the N group(P＜0.05).The incidence of limb soreness and numbness at 0.5,2,6,12,and 24 hours postoperatively was also significantly lower in the D group(P＜0.05).No sig-nificant differences were found between groups in VAS scores and PONV rates(P＞0.05).Conclusion Continuous in-fusion of dexmedetomidine combined with local infiltration provides non-inferior early postoperative quality of life com-pared to adductor canal block in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy.Moreover,it improves sleep quality and reduces postoperative limb soreness and numbness.
Keywords：knee arthroscopylocal infiltrationdexmedetomidineadductor canal blockquality of life
Publication Date：2025-07-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-25(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 994-998 )