Multidimensional Pain Assessment in Surgical Interventions of The Knee: ACL Reconstruction and Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

Robson Emiliano Jose de Freitas, Joao Mario Moraes Jacob, Fernanda Moura Viana, Ruy Abrantes Jacinto, Carolina Pereira Vieira, Esther de Oliveira Santos Gomes, Jalys Fraga Fonseca, Jaqueline Gleice Aparecida de Freitas and Fernanda Grazielle da Silva Azevedo Nora*

This study investigated pain levels in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), using a sample of 37 patients divided into two groups. Group G1 consisted of 20 elderly patients (mean age 71.59 years) diagnosed with unilateral knee osteoarthritis who underwent TKA with anesthetic block. Group G2 included 17 adults (mean age 31.62 years) with a complete ACL rupture who underwent ACL reconstruction surgery, also with anesthetic block. Pain was assessed at three time points (pre-surgery, 24 hours post-surgery, and 30 days post-surgery) using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The results showed that in Group G1, pain measured by VAS decreased from a mean of 9.76 pre-surgery to 6.16 after 30 days. In Group G2, pain decreased from a mean of 3.76 to 0.71 over the same period. The Number of Words Chosen (NWC) index from the McGill questionnaire was significantly higher in Group G1 compared to Group G2 at all time points, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Additionally, the Pain Rating Index-Affective (PRI-A) was higher in Group G1 (mean of 10.0 pre-surgery) compared to Group G2 (mean of 3.54), showing a significant difference (p = 0.001). The study concludes that subjective pain assessments are crucial for guiding therapeutic interventions, particularly in surgical contexts involving anesthetic block.

HTML PDF