Capsaicin Instillation for Postoperative Pain following Total Knee Arthroplasty

Excerpt

The recent article by Hartrick et al.[1] Capsaicin Instillation for Postoperative Pain following Total Knee Arthroplasty: a Preliminary Report of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, Placebo-Controlled, Multicentre Trial is very interesting. The authors concluded that “Despite having higher BMIs, patients in the capsaicin group achieved comparable or better pain scores with significantly less opioid use in the first 3 postoperative days”. As the authors noted, the use of capsaicin can be a good alternative management for pain. However, there are some concerns in clinical use. Most importantly, the induction of pruritus has to be discussed. The ‘heat’ and painful pruritus induced by capsaicin in the first period of application might be a cause of non-compliance.[2] How to control this unwanted important adverse effect of using capsaicin is a topic for further research. …