Management of Postoperative Pain After Arthroscopic Elbow Surgery with Oral Analgesics and Local Anesthesia.

UNLABELLED: Pain after arthroscopic elbow surgery seriously impairs patients' quality of life, and its clinical management remains a significant challenge at present.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to analyse the efficacy of oral analgesia and local anaesthesia in the management of pain levels after arthroscopic elbow surgery.

METHODS

A single-center retrospective observational study was conducted. A total of 120 patients with postoperative pain after arthroscopic elbow surgery were recruited from Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Hebei Province between December 2020 and December 2023. The patients were divided into two groups with 60 cases in each group: the LA group received local anaesthesia alone, while the LC group was administered local anaesthesia combined with oral Celecoxib capsules. The treatment cycle was 3-5 days. The main assessments were pain level (VAS score), Ramsay sedation score, elbow function (MEPS score), and clinical efficacy in both groups. Secondary outcomes included stress factor levels [malondialdehyde (MDA), aldosterone (ALD)], patient satisfaction, quality of life [Short Form of the Health Status Survey (SF-36) score], complication status, and incidence of adverse effects.

RESULTS

After treatment, the indicators of the both groups were significantly differences with pre-treatment (P<0.05). Ramsay score, MEPS score, elbow mobility, clinical efficacy, SF-36 score and satisfaction score were significantly higher the LA group, and VAS score, MDA and ALD levels, total complication rate and adverse reaction rate were significantly lower the LA group (P<0.05).