Intra-articular and portal infiltration versus wrist block for analgesia after arthroscopy of the wrist: a prospective RCT.

Wrist block has been used to provide pain relief for many procedures on the hand and wrist but its role in arthroscopy of the wrist remains unexplored. Chondrotoxicity has been a concern with the intra-articular infiltration of local anaesthetic. We aimed to evaluate and compare the analgesic effect of portal and wrist joint infiltration with a wrist block on the pain experienced by patients after arthroscopy of the wrist.A prospective, randomised, double-blind trial was designed and patients undergoing arthroscopy of the wrist under general anaesthesia as a day case were recruited for the study. Levo-bupivacaine was used for both techniques. The effects were evaluated using a ten-point visual analogue scale, and the use of analgesic agents was also compared. The primary outcomes for statistical analyses were the mean pain scores and the use of analgesia post-operatively. A total of 34 patients (63% females) were recruited to the portal and joint infiltration group and 32 patients (59% males) to the wrist...