Improving Knowledge of Use of Dexmedetomidine and Dexamethasone on Pain Control for Patients with Adductor Canal Blocks Among Anesthesia Providers

Background: Frequently, providers have felt obligated to prescribe opioids after lower extremity orthopedic surgery due to the levels of pain that patients experience. Opioid addiction and untreated pain may lead to horrid patient outcomes. The adductor block is an effective option for pain prevention in these surgeries, but the pain that results from these surgeries often outlasts the block. Therefore, anesthesia providers must learn how to effectively prolong the block. Dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone have been shown to improve the adductor canal block in duration and effectiveness. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to construct an effective educational module for anesthesia providers to learn the best adjuvant to use. Methods: A literature review was constructed using article databases to find high level of evidence articles that extrapolate the data on both adjuvants in the adductor canal block for lower extremity surgeries. Ten articles were selected, and this data inferenced that dexamethasone was superior to dexmedetomidine. This data was synthesized into an educational module that was sent out to anesthesia providers at a south Florida hospital. The module included a pre- and posttest to evaluate the effectiveness of the module in improving knowledge. Results: The educational intervention showed improvement in knowledge. There was an average increase of 37% in post-test scores among the 10 anesthesia providers that participated. Discussion: There was an improvement in knowledge among the providers on the use of the adjuvants across the board. The responses match the data on the effectiveness of dexamethasone in the adductor canal block’s outcomes. The limitations were one hospital site and its small size, but there is significant promise in the module’s results, and it will be continued to be shared.