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Article history:
Accepted 25 January 2016
Available online xxx
Keywords:
Neuropathic pain
Knee surgery
Knee arthroplasty
Knee prosthesis
Chronic pain
a b s t r a c t
Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) affects 10 to 30% of surgical patients overall and 16 to 20% of patients
after knee surgery. Patients report persistent pain in the absence of infection, mechanical disorders, or
complex regional pain syndrome type I. In many cases, the mechanism is neuropathic pain related to
an intraoperative nerve injury or impaired pain modulation with central sensitization. The clinical risk
factors and pathophysiology of CPSP are being actively investigated. Risk factors include preoperative
pain; diffuse pain; severe pain during the immediate postoperative period; anxiety, depression, or cognitive distortions such as catastrophizing; and comorbidities. The diagnosis rests on clinical grounds and
should be established as early as possible to optimize the chances of improvement. The management of
CPSP combines a number of perioperative prophylactic strategies and the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain. Local treatments consist of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and lidocaine patches
combined with tramadol. When this treatment is inadequately effective, an antidepressant or anticonvulsant can be added. A capsaicin patch is the third-line treatment, and step III opioids are the last option.
Rehabilitation therapy and physical exercises are benecial. Psychological counseling and/or cognitive
behavioral therapy should be offered, if indicated, by the results of the evaluation.
e francaise de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
2016 Societ
persistent pain after more than 6 months [8]. One month after knee
arthroplasty, over half the patients report moderate pain and 16%
severe pain, with pain during motion being far more common (78%
of cases) than pain at rest. A 2012 systematic literature review
showed that 20% of patients had persistent pain after knee arthroplasty [9]. During a questionnaire survey conducted 3 to 4 years
after knee arthroplasty, 44% of 632 patients reported pain overall
and 16% reported severe pain [10].
1. Pathophysiology
In patients undergoing knee arthroplasty or arthroscopy, the
initial lesion may involve the infrapatellar branches of the saphenous nerve, the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (medial edge of
the patella), the anterior cutaneous branches of the femoral nerve,
the common peroneal nerve, and/or the posterior tibial nerve [11].
The infrapatellar branches of the saphenous nerve may be injured
after knee arthroplasty or arthroscopy. The saphenous nerve penetrates the fascia between the gracilis muscle and the sartorious
muscle at the tip of the patella then courses in the subcutaneous
tissue before dividing, typically into three branches. Anatomic variants exist regarding the number of branches (one to four) and their
location between the tip of the patella and the tibial tuberosity
[12]. Injury to the infrapatellar branches of the saphenous nerve
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbspin.2016.06.001
e francaise de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
1297-319X/ 2016 Societ
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Fig. 1. A. Anterior view of the distribution of sensory nerves in the lower limb (http://coursenligne.u-picardie.fr). B. In this diagram, the shaded area approximately indicates
the location of sensory impairments caused by injuries to the femoral nerve (intermediate and medial femoral cutaneous nerve and saphenous nerve). The dotted line
circumscribes the area affected by injuries to the ends of the anterior cutaneous branches of the femoral nerve and to the infrapatellar branches of the saphenous nerve
during surgery on the knee (from [13]).
can cause pain in the anterior knee and proximal tibia (Fig. 1A and
B). In some individuals, the end of the lateral femoral cutaneous
nerve communicates with the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve and the anterior cutaneous branches of the femoral
nerve, forming a peripatellar plexus. The pain then tends to be
located at the medial knee, in the most distal part of the cutaneous
distribution of the femoral nerve (Fig. 1A and B).
The common peroneal nerve may be injured during knee arthroplasty. The frequency of this event varies widely across orthopedic
studies, from 0 to 9.5%. In a retrospective study of 1476 arthroplasties, 1.3% of patients experienced common peroneal nerve injury;
however, only cases with combined sensory and motor involvement were included [14]. Among patients with common peroneal
nerve injury, 20% also had an injury to the posterior tibial nerve. Risk
factors for common peroneal nerve injury are preoperative knee
valgus greater than 15 , xed knee exion, and a longer tourniquet
time during surgery [15]. The pain tends to localize to the lateral
and anterolateral aspects of the leg (Fig. 2A and B).
The risk of nerve injury depends on the approach [16]. With
the anteromedial approaches used for total and medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, there is a theoretical but small risk
of injury to the saphenous nerve or its branches. Nerve injuries
are rare with the anterolateral approach used for lateral unicompartmental arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty in a patient
with valgus malalignment. The medial posterolateral approach carries a risk of injury to the branches of the saphenous nerve. This
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Fig. 2. A. Posterior view of the distribution of sensory nerves in the lower limb (http://coursenligne.u-picardie.fr). B. In this diagram, the shaded area approximately indicates
the location of sensory impairments caused by injuries to the common peroneal nerve [13].
Table 1
Methods for assessing the features of neurological sensitization.
Sensory symptom
Physical examination
Quantitative
sensory testing
Static mechanical
hyperalgesia
Blunt tip
Finger pressure
Dynamic mechanical
hyperalgesia
Heat hyperalgesia
Brush
Cold hyperalgesia
Temporal summation
Thermotest
Thermotest
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Table 2
Features of neuropathic and inammatory pain.
Positive symptoms
Spontaneous pain in the damaged
areas
Oversensitivity to heat
Cold allodynia
Hyperalgesia
Delayed pain sensation
Paroxysmal pain
Burning sensations
Stabbing pain
Negative symptoms
Sensory impairments in the
distribution of the damaged nerve
Motor impairments in the
distribution of the damaged nerve
Neuropathic
pain
Inammatory
pain
Yes
Yes
Rarely
Often
Often
Often
Often
Often
Rarely
Often
Rarely
Never
Rarely
Never
Rarely
Often
Yes
No
Often
No
The main preoperative prophylactic measures are patient education to diminish risk factors, particularly those related to
psychological and cognitive disturbances; optimal management of
preoperative pain; and selection of the best time for the surgical
procedure. An important measure that probably deserves to be
taken routinely is testing for preoperative central sensitization and
increased intensity of perioperative analgesia (see the section on
risk factors for CPSP and Table 1).
4.2. Perioperative management
The objective is to minimize immediate postoperative pain
and subacute pain, which set the scene for chronic pain. Patients
should receive multimodal analgesia combining several drugs
and techniques that act on different sites in order to induce
additive or even synergistic interactions [11,27]. Combining a
nonsteroidal antiinammatory drug (NSAID) and acetaminophen
during the perioperative period decreases step III opioid requirements, diminishes opioid-induced hyperalgesia, and lessens the
intensity of the pain, particularly after orthopedic surgery [11,27].
Caution is in order, as these drugs can induce adverse events,
particularly in older patients. Other options include nefopam, tramadol, and gabapentinoids. Ketamine combats hyperalgesia by
blocking the NMDA receptors and decreases both postoperative
pain intensity and morphine requirements [27]. In a randomized
placebo-controlled trial in 50 knee arthroplasty patients, duloxetine decreased the use of morphine after the procedure [28]. There
is also a recommendation to provide not only systemic analgesics,
but also regional anesthesia (epidural anesthesia or femoral nerve
block for knee surgery) or the more recently introduced practice
of injecting a variety of local anesthetics (e.g., ropivacaine) into the
posterior capsule and into the surgical wound in the knee. Multimodal analgesia decreases the intensity of immediate and midterm
postoperative pain, thereby probably combating one of the risk factors for chronic pain, despite the absence to date of direct proof of
a decrease in long-term pain.
4.3. Management of neuropathic pain
4.3.1. Patient information
The mechanisms of neuropathic pain and treatment goals
should be explained to the patient in simple, clear terms. The
patient must understand that the pain is caused by damage to
nerve bers and not to a relapse of the underlying disease or a
complication of the surgical procedure.
4.3.2. Local treatments
Local measures should be given preference for the rst-line
treatment. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is
a noninvasive method with useful analgesic effects, particularly
in neuropathic pain [29]. Neurostimulation modalities fall into
two main categories: conventional high-frequency low-intensity
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pregabalin also alleviates anxiety disorders. Furthermore, antidepressants have proven benecial effects on depression and anxiety.
However, they also have many adverse effects and should be used
with caution in elderly individuals. Tricyclic antidepressants are
considered to have a less favorable safety prole than anticonvulsants.
Duloxetine and venlafaxine (antidepressants that inhibit the
reuptake of both serotonin and noradrenaline) have proven benets in neuropathic pain due to a smaller number of conditions
(e.g., diabetes). Duloxetine is licensed only for pain due to diabetic
neuropathy. Both drugs are also effective against depression and
generalized anxiety.
Tramadol has a dual mechanism of action that combines opioid
and monoaminergic effects. It has been proven effective in sensory
polyneuropathy. Tramadol has no effect on comorbidities. It has
the advantage of also alleviating nociceptive pain, which makes it
useful for the treatment of mixed pain [35].
Step III opioids (oxycodone, morphine, methadone) have been
convincingly shown to alleviate peripheral neuropathic pain. High
doses are often needed to obtain an effect, and a dose titration
procedure should be conducted in each individual patient. Step III
opioids should be used only when the other available treatments
have failed, in combination with other drugs if appropriate, and
with the usual precautions [35,36].
Table 3
Dosage of the drugs recommended for the rst-line treatment of neuropathic pain (from the French drug compendium Vidal ).
Drugs
Starting dosage
Gabapentin
300 mg/d
in 3 divided doses
Pregabalin
Amitriptyline
SNRI
100150 mg/d
in 2 divided doses
1020 mg/d
in a single evening dose
Effective dosage: ED
Maximum dosage: MD
Renal dysfunction
ED = 9001800 mg/d
MD = 3600 mg/d
ED = 150 mg/d
MD = 600 mg/d
ED = 25150 mg/d
MD = 150 mg/d
No dosage modication
ED = 6090 mg/d
MD = 120 mg/d
by 30 mg after 2 weeks
by 75 mg every 2 weeks
ED = 150225 mg/d
MD = 375 mg/d
GFR 3015:
37.5112.5 mg/d
Titration
by 300 mg/d
at 27 day intervals
by 150 mg at 7-day
intervals if needed
by 515 mg at 7-day
intervals if needed
GFR: glomerular ltration rate in mL/min; SNRI: serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
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Question 2: Is the pain associated with one or more of the following symptoms in the same area?
5. Conclusion
Yes
No
2: Painful Cold
Yes
No
3: Electric Shocks
Yes
No
4: Tingling
Yes
No
Yes
No
6: Numbness
Yes
No
7: Itching
Yes
No
Yes
No
9: Hypoesthesia to prick
Yes
No
Yes
No
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