Ultrasound Guided Combined Adductor Canal, Superior Genicular Nerves and Anterior Femoral Cutaneous Nerves Blocks in Comparison With Periarticular Local Anesthesia Infiltration in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Analgesic Efficacy of Ultrasound Guided Combined Adductor Canal, Superior Genicular Nerves and Anterior Femoral Cutaneous Nerves Blocks in Comparison With Periarticular Local Anesthesia Infiltration in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective Randomized Trial

Background:

Pain management in total knee arthroplasty continues to evolve especially as an early postoperative analgesia is of paramount importance in achieving patient satisfaction and improving clinical outcomes. The goal of achieving an ideal analgesia modality which facilitates early rehabilitation, prevents knee stiffness, reduces hospital stay due to pain, and promotes good functional outcomes continues to be elusive. Multimodal analgesia has been devised to control postoperative pain and reduce opioid consumption including periarticular injection and peripheral nerve blocks.

Rationale:

Assess the efficacy of a triple block including Adductor canal block, superior lateral, superior medial genicular nerves block and anterior femoral cutaneous nerves block in comparison with Periarticular infiltration for pain management in patients undergoing a total knee arthroplasty.

Methods:

Prospective Randomized Control Trial

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Total Ankle Arthroplasty
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Periarticular Infiltration; Procedure: Ultrasound-Guided Triple Block Technique

Detailed Description

Pain management after total knee arthroplasty continues to evolve, as effective early postoperative analgesia is essential for patient satisfaction, early mobilization, improved functional outcomes, and reduced hospital stay. Multimodal analgesia strategies have been developed to optimize pain control while minimizing opioid consumption, including periarticular injection and peripheral nerve blocks.

Femoral nerve block has traditionally been used for analgesia after total knee arthroplasty; however, its associated quadriceps weakness may delay mobilization and increase the risk of falls. Consequently, the adductor canal block has gained popularity because it provides predominantly sensory blockade while preserving quadriceps muscle strength.

The sensory innervation of the knee joint is complex and involves branches from the femoral, tibial, common peroneal, saphenous, and obturator nerves. Genicular nerve blocks specifically target the sensory innervation of the knee capsule and have emerged as a promising technique for postoperative pain management. In this study, higher volumes of local anesthetic will be used for the superior genicular nerve blocks to improve coverage of the posterior knee capsule, while the inferolateral genicular nerve block will be avoided because of the potential risk of motor weakness and foot drop.

As the medial parapatellar approach is the most common surgical approach for total knee arthroplasty, the anterior femoral cutaneous nerve, which supplies the anteromedial aspect of the distal thigh and knee, may represent an additional target for postoperative analgesia.

Periarticular injection is a surgeon-administered analgesic technique that provides effective early postoperative pain relief without affecting quadriceps strength and has become widely adopted in total knee arthroplasty.

The aim of this study is to compare the analgesic efficacy of a combined approach using adductor canal block, superior genicular nerve blocks, and anterior femoral cutaneous nerve block with periarticular injection in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. We hypothesize that adding superior genicular nerve blocks and anterior femoral cutaneous nerve block to adductor canal block will provide superior postoperative analgesia compared with periarticular injection.

A prospective randomized blinded trial will be conducted at Qassim University Hospital after obtaining written informed consent. Adult patients undergoing primary unilateral total knee replacement, aged above 18 years, with a body mass index below 40 kg/m² and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II will be included. Patients with contraindications to spinal anesthesia, allergy to study medications, opioid dependence, previous knee surgery, chronic neuropathic pain, or regular use of analgesics other than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will be excluded.

All patients will undergo routine preoperative assessment and laboratory investigations. In the operating room, standard monitoring will be applied, intravenous access established, and crystalloid infusion commenced.

Spinal anesthesia will be performed under aseptic conditions using hyperbaric bupivacaine, followed by intravenous sedation with midazolam, fentanyl, and propofol infusion. All patients will receive prophylactic antibiotics and tranexamic acid, with supplemental oxygen and capnography monitoring throughout the procedure.

All surgeries will be performed using a standardized surgical technique by the same surgical team, while regional anesthesia procedures will be performed by the same anesthesiologists. Outcome assessors and data analysts will remain blinded to group allocation.

Postoperative analgesia will include regular paracetamol and ketorolac, with intravenous morphine provided as rescue analgesia when required. After discharge, patients will receive oral paracetamol and celecoxib, with tramadol and antiemetics prescribed as needed.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 64
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Saudi Arabia
  • Al-Qassim Region
    • Buraidah, Al-Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia
      • Qassim University Medical City

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. ASA: I & II
2. Gender: Male & Female
3. Age: 18and above
4. BMI less than 40 kg/m2
5. Patients are scheduled for primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with contraindications to spinal anesthesia
2. Failed spinal anesthesia.
3. ASA III-IV
4. Body mass index (BMI)≥40,
5. A known allergy or contraindication to the drugs used in this study.
6. Previous knee surgery.
7. Renal impairment.
8. Patients who suffer from chronic neuropathic pain or on regular pain medications other than NSAIDs.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Periarticular Infiltration Analgesia Group; It will be infiltrated by the surgeon before prosthesis implantation.	Procedure: Periarticular Infiltration; A total volume of 60 mL containing bupivacaine, ketorolac, adrenaline, and tranexamic acid will be infiltrated by the surgeon before prosthesis implantation into the posterior capsule, medial and lateral gutters, quadriceps mechanism, patellar tendon, and medial periosteum.
Active Comparator: Triple Block Group; Patients will receive ultrasound-guided adductor canal, infrapatellar, medial cutaneous, and superior genicular nerve blocks.	Procedure: Ultrasound-Guided Triple Block Technique; Patients will receive a mixture of 45 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine and 8 mg dexamethasone. A total of 15 mL will be injected into the adductor canal, 10 mL for the infrapatellar and medial cutaneous nerve blocks, and 10 mL each for the superior medial and superior lateral genicular nerve blocks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
End of Analgesia Time	Time from the end of surgery until the first Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain score ≥ 4.	Within the first 24 hours after surgery.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total Morphine Consumption (mg)	Total cumulative morphine consumption during hospital stay	During the first 24 hours after surgery
Total Tramadol Consumption (mg)	Total tramadol consumption after hospital discharge	During the first 24 hours after discharge
Heart rate (Beat/minute)	Heart rate measurements recorded postoperatively every 30 minutes in the recovery unit, then hourly in the day surgery unit until discharge.	During the first 24 hours after surgery
Blood pressure (mmHg)	Blood pressure measurements recorded postoperatively every 30 minutes in the recovery unit, then hourly in the day surgery unit until discharge.	During the first 24 hours after surgery
Patient Satisfaction Score	Patient satisfaction with postoperative analgesia assessed using a five-point Likert scale (range: 1 to 5), where 1 indicates very dissatisfied and 5 indicates very satisfied.	At 24 hours after surgery
Length of Hospital Stay	Duration from operating room admission until hospital discharge.	During the index hospitalization up to 3 days postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: SAMEH ELSHERBINI
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: OMAR S Almisnid, Anesthesia Consultant, Department of Anesthesia, College of Medicine, Qassim University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 5, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 10, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 15, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 10, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: total knee arthroplasty; Adductor canal block; genicular nerves and femoral cutaneous nerves blocks
• Other Study ID Numbers: REGIONAL BLOCKS IN TKA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No