Postoperative Analgesia After Total Hip Arthroplasty: Comparative Evaluation of Pericapsular Nerve Group Versus Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block

Total hip arthroplasty is a widely used surgical treatment intervention for treating hip conditions such as femur neck fractures and advanced hip osteoarthritis.

Hip fractures are quite common, regardless of the age of the population (young or old), and they are extremely painful. A hip fracture is a serious injury with potentially life-threatening complications, and it is a common orthopedic emergency in elderly individuals. Early surgery within 48 hours of a fracture has been found to lower mortality and complication rates.

The pericapsular nerve group block is a novel regional analgesia technique to decrease pain after total hip arthroplasty (THA) while preserving the motor function. The local anaesthetic is deposited using this method in the fascial plane between the psoas muscle and the superior pubic ramus, which aims sensory branches of the obturator, accessory obturator, and femoral nerves in the anterior capsule of the hip.

Fascia iliaca compartment block, for procedures on the femur and hip joint, is still a well-liked regional anaesthetic technique. Studies have found that FICB prevents complications by anaesthetizing the femoral nerve far from critical neurovascular structures while still giving enough analgesia.

Both blocks could be used to effectively reduce pain intensity up to 24 hours, total opioid consumption, and length of hospital stay in THA patients.

Inclusion criteria

• Age from 18 to 80 years.
• Both sexes.
• American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) Physical Status II-III.
• Scheduled for Total hip arthroplasty (THA) under spinal anesthesia.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients' refusal
• Contraindications to spinal anesthesia or nerve blocks.
• History of allergy to the medications used in the study.
• Pregnancy.
• Significant cognitive impairment.