Intra-articular adductor canal block has equivalent analgesic effect to traditional ultrasound-guided adductor canal block after total knee arthroplasty: a prospective randomized controlled trial

An adductor canal block (ACB) is widely accepted as a regional nerve block for pain management following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, no consensus exists concerning whether the analgesic effect is greater when joint surgeons perform intra-articular ACBs (IA-ACBs) or when anesthesiologists perform ultrasound-guided ACBs (UG-ACBs). We hypothesized that intra-articular ACBs (IA-ACBs) performed by joint surgeons and UG-ACBs performed by anesthesiologists based on peri-articular injections (PAI) would yield equivalent analgesic effects.