Chronic knee pain is the most common site of osteoarthrosis. Pain associated with it is multifactorial and its management is multimodal, including minimally invasive procedures such as nerve block of geniculates. The objective of this study is to evaluate the immediate and short-term symptomatic improvement of patients with chronic knee pain after an ultrasound-guided block of genicular nerves.

Twenty ultrasound-guided blocks of geniculate nerves (ropicavaine + methylprednisolone) were performed in patients with chronic knee pain. The efficacy of the block was evaluated through the Numerical Analgesic Scale, immediately after the procedure, after 48hours and 1 month later. Safety was also evaluated through monitoring of side effects and the level of patient satisfaction. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Software version 24.0. Results A total of 20 patients were included (85% female) with an average age of 75 years. The median pain before the procedure was 9, immediately after it was 2, two days later it was 3 and one month later 6 (37% pain relief at the end of one month). Regarding the overall Patient Global Improvement Change Scale (PGIC) 90% reported improvement 48hours after the procedure. Hundred percent of patients reported being willing to repeat the procedure. No adverse effects were reported after one month. There was a tendentially significant positive correlation (P<0.10) between pain before the procedure and pain one month after the procedure and a statistically significant positive correlation (P<0.05) between pain with the procedure and pain one month later.

Cortico-anesthetic ultrasound-guided blocks of geniculate nerves contributed to the symptomatic relief of these patients in the short-term. The most ab initio complainants and those who complained of the greatest pain with the procedure, were the patients with lowest symptomatic relief at the end of one month.