Pain management practice patterns after hip arthroscopy: an international survey

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Pain Management
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Diverse post-operative pain control methods exist for hip arthroscopy.
• Lack of consensus on optimal pain management strategies is evident.
• Current practices vary widely among surgeons.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an international survey assessing pain management patterns after hip arthroscopy.
• To identify areas of agreement and disagreement in post-operative pain control.
• To hypothesize a lack of consensus among surgeons regarding hip arthroscopy pain management.

Main Methods:

• An international survey with 25 multiple-choice questions was distributed.
• Survey targeted members of orthopedic professional organizations in sports medicine and hip arthroscopy.
• Clinical agreement defined as >80% consensus; general agreement as >60%.

Main Results:

• 215 surgeons completed the survey.
• Clinical agreement was only achieved for oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
• 15.8% of respondents reported patient readmissions for pain control within 30 days post-surgery.

Conclusions:

• Significant variability exists in post-hip arthroscopy pain management practices.
• Oral NSAIDs represent the only consistently agreed-upon post-operative pain control method.
• Further research is needed to establish evidence-based guidelines for hip arthroscopy pain management.