Postoperative acute pain management remains a critical challenge in orthopedic surgery, with growing interest in long-acting local anesthetic formulations to prolong analgesia and reduce opioid requirements; however, comparative clinical evidence in peripheral nerve blocks is limited. To address this gap, a study evaluated whether liposomal bupivacaine could provide superior and longer-lasting analgesia compared with conventional ropivacaine when administered via an ultrasound-guided anterior sciatic nerve block in 80 patients undergoing lower leg fracture surgery.
The study found that the primary outcome visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores assessed at 6 h (T1), 24 h (T2), 48 h (T3), and 72 h (T4) demonstrated significantly lower pain levels in the 20 mL liposomal bupivacaine (266 mg) group (Group LB) at T2, T3, and T4, although higher scores were observed at T1. In addition, Group LB…
