Interscalene Nerve Block Superior to Multimodal Analgesia for Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery.

In this retrospective study, we identified patients who had undergone outpatient, arthroscopic shoulder surgery utilizing interscalene nerve block, and compared them to those who underwent general anesthesia with multimodal analgesia. We hypothesized that PACU discharge time would be significantly lower, and that pain control would be superior, for patients undergoing ISB with sedation as compared to general anesthesia with MMA. 64 cases were evaluated. The duration of time spent in PACU was significantly lower in the ISB group, while pain scores were both clinically and statistically significantly lower in the ISB group, and opioid requirements were also significantly lower. Peripheral nerve blockade remains superior to MMA for minimizing recovery time, and control of postoperative pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]