A COMPARISON OF INTRAARTICULAR MORPHINE AND BUPIVACAINE FOR PAIN CONTROL AFTER OUTPATIENT KNEE ARTHROSCOPY - A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLINDED STUDY

To determine the duration of pain relief and efficacy of intraarticula r morphine compared with bupivacaine after outpatient knee arthroscopy under local anesthesia, we gave patients one of three postoperative i ntraarticular injections: 4 mg morphine, 0.25% bupivacaine, or 0.9% sa line. Visual analog scale scores and supplemental pain medication use were recorded at 0 to 30 minutes, 2, 4, 6, 8 to 12, and 24 hours after surgery, The score on the visual analog scale at 24 hours was signifi cantly lower in the morphine group than in the bupivacaine or control groups, The cumulative amount of pain medication used was significantl y lower in the morphine and bupivacaine groups at 2 to 6 hours after s urgery than in the saline control group, The morphine group used the l east supplemental pain medication during the 12 to 24 hour interval (P = 0.06). We found that the use of intraarticular morphine or bupivaca ine after outpatient knee arthroscopy will decrease the amount of narc otic medication needed for pain relief during the early postoperative period. In addition, morphine provided prolonged pain relief up to 24 hours when compared with bupivacaine or placebo, and the patients in t he morphine group tended to take less supplemental pain medication dur ing the first postoperative day.