A study of patients undergoing single-level lumbar spine surgery found that those who received liposomal bupivacaine (LB) following surgery required narcotic pain medication for a significantly decreased length of time (average decrease, 10.3 hours) compared with non-LB patients. 

The study, appearing in The Spine Journal, involved 80 total patients undergoing single-level microdiskectomy for lumbar or sacral compressive disk disease. The 40 patients receiving LB infiltration used intravenous narcotics postoperatively for an average of 13 hours versus 23.3 hours for non-LB patients. However, no significant difference was noted between visual analog scores for the patient groups at any point postoperatively, nor between total morphine-equivalent doses or 30-day emergency room visits for pain. Learn more...