Lumbar Plexus vs Quadratus Lumborum Block in Post-operative Pain Following Total Hip Replacement

Summary

The Lumbar Plexus (LP) block is currently used as the standard-of-care regional anesthesia technique to provide postoperative pain management after primary hip replacement surgery at UPMC Shadyside Hospital. However, the LP technique is complex and can be associated with potentially serious side effects, including nerve injury, major bleeding, retroperitoneal hematoma, and intrathecal injection of local anesthetic. In rare instances the LP block can also lead to motor blockade, interfering with early ambulation. There are several case reports of Quadratus Lumborum inter-fascial block (QL3) giving equally adequate pain relief after total hip replacement surgery, and this QL3 block is performed routinely at this institution. The benefits to inter-fascial administration of local anesthetic include the avoidance of theoretical nerve injury, bleeding and intrathecal anesthetic administration associated with the direct interaction between the nerve and the nerve block needle. The purpose of this study is to show that QL3 block is non-inferior to the standard-of-care lumbar plexus block and should be used more regularly in hip replacement surgery. The study will be conducted as a prospective, randomized (1:1), double-blind, non-inferiority, active-comparator trial. The investigators plan to enroll 40 subjects, 20 in each treatment group. This study will prospectively investigate the efficacy of QL3 versus Classic LP block for post-operative pain management in subjects undergoing primary, unilateral hip replacement surgery and prospectively compare QL3 versus Classic LP block in time to mobilization and physical therapy response. Primary outcome measures include pain at rest and with movement at 6, 12 and 24 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes will be time for first request for pain medication, total pain medications (narcotics and non-narcotic analgesics) given in 24 hours and the time of participant's ability to walk 100 feet as recorded by a physical therapist.

Timeline

Start

2019-03-19

Primary completion

2020-05-30

Completion

2020-05-30

Publications

• Background Ilfeld BM, Ball ST, Gearen PF, Le LT, Mariano ER, Vandenborne K, Duncan PW, Sessler DI, Enneking FK, Shuster JJ, Theriaque DW, Meyer RS. Ambulatory continuous posterior lumbar plexus nerve blocks after hip arthroplasty: a dual-center, randomized, triple-masked, placebo-controlled trial. Anesthesiology. 2008 Sep;109(3):491-501. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e318182a4a3.
• Background Weller RS, Gerancher JC, Crews JC, Wade KL. Extensive retroperitoneal hematoma without neurologic deficit in two patients who underwent lumbar plexus block and were later anticoagulated. Anesthesiology. 2003 Feb;98(2):581-5. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200302000-00044. No abstract available.
• Background Ilfeld BM, Duke KB, Donohue MC. The association between lower extremity continuous peripheral nerve blocks and patient falls after knee and hip arthroplasty. Anesth Analg. 2010 Dec;111(6):1552-4. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181fb9507. Epub 2010 Oct 1.
• Background Hockett MM, Hembrador S, Lee A. Continuous Quadratus Lumborum Block for Postoperative Pain in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Case Report. A A Case Rep. 2016 Sep 15;7(6):129-31. doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000000363.
• Background La Colla L, Ben-David B, Merman R. Quadratus Lumborum Block as an Alternative to Lumbar Plexus Block for Hip Surgery: A Report of 2 Cases. A A Case Rep. 2017 Jan 1;8(1):4-6. doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000000406.
• Background Adhikary SD, Short AJ, El-Boghdadly K, Abdelmalak MJ, Chin KJ. Transmuscular quadratus lumborum versus lumbar plexus block for total hip arthroplasty: A retrospective propensity score matched cohort study. J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2018 Jul-Sep;34(3):372-378. doi: 10.4103/joacp.JOACP_335_17.
• Background Børglum J, Moriggl B, Jensen K, Lønnqvist P, Christensen AF, Sauter A, Bendtsen TF. Ultrasound-guided transmuscular quadratus lumborum blockade. British Journal of Anaesthesia 111:eLetters Supplement, 2013.
• Background Winnie AP, Ramamurthy S, Durrani Z, Radonjic R: Plexus blocks for lower extremity surgery: New answers to old problems. Anesth Review 1974; 1:11
• Polania Gutierrez JJ, Ben-David B, Rest C, Grajales MT, Khetarpal SK. Quadratus lumborum block type 3 versus lumbar plexus block in hip replacement surgery: a randomized, prospective, non-inferiority study. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2021 Feb;46(2):111-117. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2020-101915. Epub 2020 Nov 11.

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