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Pain control in laparoscopic surgery: a case–control study between transversus abdominis plane-block and trocar-site anesthesia

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Abstract

Local anesthesia in laparoscopic operations is gaining increasing consensus. To standardize analgesia, a prospective case–control study was created over a 1-year period, in collaboration with the anesthesiology service in our community hospital. Starting from February 2016, we prospectively enrolled adult patients (more than 16 years old) undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy or cholecystectomy, either in emergency or elective setting. Patients were preoperatively assigned (based on the chart-admission number) either to transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block treatment (Group 1—experimental arm) or trocar-site anesthesia (TSA) (Group 2—experimental arm), and then compared with group of patients not submitted to treatment (Group 3—control arm). Demographic and clinical characteristics of each patient were recorded. Post-operative pain level (primary outcome) was assessed with visual analog scale (VAS) score; analgesic use and length of stay in hospital were defined as secondary outcomes. Forty-two patients were assigned to TAP block treatment (Group 1), fifty-two to TSA (Group 2), and thirty-nine underwent no pre-incisional treatment (Group 3). In the comparison between patients undergoing TAP block or TSA with the control arm, a significance difference in reported pain was recorded in every scheduled time (p < 0.05 at 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 h from awakening). Both local anesthesia groups share a benefit in terms of primary outcome. The use of pre-incisional TSA for all the patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy and appendectomy could become a routine practice to reduce post-operative pain both in the elective and emergency setting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Surgical Clinic, University of Brescia, Via San Rocchino 199, 25123, Brescia, Italy

    Sarah Molfino, Paolo Baggi, Luigi Totaro, Gian Luca Baiocchi & Nazario Portolani

  2. Surgical Unit, Montichiari Hospital, Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Emanuele Botteri & Nereo Vettoretto

  3. Intensive Care Unit, Montichiari Hospital, Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Michela Huscher

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  1. Sarah Molfino
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  2. Emanuele Botteri
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  3. Paolo Baggi
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  4. Luigi Totaro
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  6. Gian Luca Baiocchi
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Correspondence to Sarah Molfino.

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This research involving human participants was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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This research involved human participants who supplied their own consent. This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. All authors disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence this study.

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Molfino, S., Botteri, E., Baggi, P. et al. Pain control in laparoscopic surgery: a case–control study between transversus abdominis plane-block and trocar-site anesthesia. Updates Surg 71, 717–722 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-018-00615-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-018-00615-y

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