Intraarticular local anesthesia: can it reduce pain related to MR or CT arthrography of the shoulder?

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate whether intraarticular anesthesia can reduce pain after MR or CT arthrography of the shoulder. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study included 120 patients who underwent CT or MR arthrography of the shoulder. The patients were randomized into two groups the study group (n = 60), each administered an intraarticular injection of the contrast agent mixed with a local anesthetic (2% mepivacaine); and the control group (n = 60), each injected with the contrast agent only. Each patient's pain level was assessed at five phases-baseline and immediately, 2 hours, 1 day, and 2 days after injection-by using a visual analog scale or a verbal rating scale. The net pain score at each phase was also calculated. The pain course and net pain score were compared between study and control groups by repeated-measures analysis of variance. After the patients were divided into subgroups according to patient- or procedure-related factors, the efficacy of the intraarticular local anesthetic in each subgroup was evaluated. RESULTS: The pain course showed a quadratic trend and was not significantly different between study and control groups. The net pain score also was not significantly different between the two groups. No subgroup showed a significantly different efficacy of the intraarticular local anesthetic between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Intraarticular local anesthesia did not reduce arthrography-related pain.