Poor
postoperative pain control impairs patient recovery and lengthens the duration of hospitalization after various surgeries. Local infiltration
analgesia(LIA) has become an effective method for managing
postoperative pain. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of LIA with
ropivacaine for
postoperative pain control after cervical
laminoplasty. In total, 68 patients undergoing cervical
laminoplasty were included for retrospective review and divided into
ropivacaine and control groups. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score, postoperative
analgesic consumption, operative duration, intraoperative blood loss volume, incision length, hospitalization duration and incidence of complications were analyzed. In the
ropivacaine group, the VAS score was 3.2 ± 1.4 at 4 hours postoperatively, which was lower than that of the control group(4.0 ± 1.4, P = 0.024). At 8, 12 and 24 hours after surgery, a significant difference was detected in the VAS score between the two groups(P ≤ 0.015).
Sufentanil consumption was less in the
ropivacaine group than in the control group in the first 4 hours postoperatively (25.6 ± 6.3 µg vs 32.2 ± 6.8 µg, P < 0.001), and similar results were observed in the first 8, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours postoperatively(P < 0.001). Fewer patients required rescue
analgesia in the
ropivacaine group(8/33 vs 18/35 at 4-8 hours, P = 0.021; 9/33 vs 21/35 at 8-12 hours, P = 0.007). The hospitalization duration and time to ambulation were shorter in the
ropivacaine group(8.5 ± 1.4 vs 9.6 ± 1.6 for postoperative duration, P = 0.002; 2.9 ± 0.7 vs 3.5 ± 0.8 for time to ambulation, P = 0.001). The incidence of
nausea and
vomiting was lower in the
ropivacaine group than in the control group(30.3% vs 54.3%, P = 0.046). In conclusion, LIA with
ropivacaine could effectively reduce
postoperative pain, and postoperative
analgesic consumption, and promote recovery after cervical
laminoplasty.