Evaluation of the Effects of Ultrasound-Guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block on Perioperative Analgesia and Patient Comfort in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Abstract

Objective: Inadequate pain management after laparoscopic cholecystectomy is an important problem that can lead to complications and negatively affect the patient’s recovery. Transversus abdominis plane block can contribute to postoperative analgesia in abdominal surgeries. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of preoperative unilateral or bilateral transversus abdominis plane block on perioperative analgesia in patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and its contribution to patient comfort. Methods: A total of 75 patients were randomized into 3 groups as Group-1 (n=25) without unblocking, Group-2 (n=25) with unilateral block and Group-3 (n=25) with bilateral block. Block was applied to Group 2 and Group 3 under general anesthesia before surgery. Demographic characteristics of patients, intraoperative opioid consumption, postoperative 30 min, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours VAS rest-VAS cough scores, analgesic consumption in patient controlled analgesia, postoperative additional analgesic requirement, side effects, mobilization times and patient satisfaction were recorded. Results: The dose of remifentanil consumed intraoperatively was significantly lower in Group-3. VAS values were significantly different among the groups until the 12th hour postoperatively. The VAS rest and VAS cough values were lower in the Group 3. There was a significant difference among the groups in the patient-controlled analgesia devices when the bolus dose demand/given amounts and the total amount of drugs requested/consumed were compared. Total drug consumption was determined in the highest Group-1 and the lowest in Group-3. The satisfaction scores of the patients in group-3 were higher than the other groups. Conclusion: Our study showed that transversus abdominis plane block application in laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgeries contributed to decreased perioperative analgesic consumption and lower VAS scores up to 12 hours. Transversus abdominis plane block, which was performed with laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the preoperative period, has been shown to be an effective analgesic method.