Effects of pericapsular nerve group block on patients under spinal anesthesia for total hip arthroplasty: a randomized, controlled, double-blind study

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) Block applied for anesthesia in total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgery regarding its effects on postoperative pain, opioid requirement and early mobilization. Methods: This prospective, randomized, controlled study was included a total of 60 patients who underwent THA under spinal anesthesia. The patients were divided into two groups: those receiving the PENG block and others not receiving the PENG block. The primary outcome was assessing postoperative pain with Visual analogue scales (VAS). Secondary outcomes included postoperative adverse effects, hip joint range of motion, mobilisation, total opioid requirement and length of hospital stay. Results: In the PENG group, the VAS score at the 12th, 24th and 48th hours after the procedure, total opioid requirement, and the time to mobilization were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.01). In the PENG group, the time to additional analgesic administration was significantly longer, and the hip joint range of motion was significantly higher compared to the control group (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the length of hospital stay (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our study indicated a decrease in postoperative pain and total opioid consumption in patients undergoing PENG block application. It was observed that these patients had a later requirement for initial additional analgesia and greater hip joint range of motion, and they required a shorter time for mobilization. It has been concluded that the PENG block could be an effective and safe analgesic method as a significant part of multimodal analgesia in postoperative pain control in THA surgery. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT06183528.