Comparison of patient and surgeon satisfaction in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy with peripheral nerve block versus spinal anesthesia

Objective. This study aims to compare two different methods of regional anesthesia applied for knee arthroscopy in terms of patient and surgeon satisfaction. Materials and Methods. Eighty patients who underwent knee arthroscopy either with spinal anesthesia (SA) or unilateral sciatic and femoral nerve block (SFNB) were included in the study. A nurse conducted a blind study questionnaire to assess the surgeon and patient satisfaction from anesthesia performed at the end of the surgery. Pain score, demographical data, duration of surgery, motor and sensory block duration, time of first rescue analgesia were recorded and analyzed statistically. Results. A statistically significant difference was found between the patient (p = 0.001; p <0.01) and surgeon (p = 0.022; p <0.05) satisfaction rates, these being lower in the group with SFNB comparable to patients with spinal anesthesia. There was a statistically significant difference between the first analgesic requirements of the patients according to the groups (p = 0.001; p <0.01). The first analgesic requirement of the patients who received SFNB was later than in the case of patients who received spinal anesthesia. Conclusions. Patient and surgeon satisfaction with SA was significantly higher than SFNB. The peripheral nerve blocks are inadequate for patient and surgeon satisfaction for knee arthroscopy compared to SA.