• Rajagopalan Venkatraman, Ravi Saravanan, Koka Vatsalya Mohana, and Anand Pushparani.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, Tami Nadu, India.
• Indian J Anaesth. 2020 Dec 1; 64 (12): 1007-1011.

Background And AimsQuadratus lumborum block (QLB) is a novel anaesthetic technique for abdominal wall block providing excellent post-operative analgesia. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the duration of post-operative analgesia with QLB in unilateral laparoscopic renal surgeries. The secondary objectives were to assess total morphine consumption during the first 24 h postoperatively and observe for complications.MethodsSixty patients undergoing unilateral laparoscopic renal surgeries were randomly divided into two groups, with patients receiving QLB (Group A) or no block (Group B) at the end of surgery. General anaesthesia was standardised in both the groups. The pain was assessed by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of 1-10. The duration of analgesia was taken as time from extubation to VAS of ≥3. Morphine was administered in patient-controlled analgesia pump with a bolus of 1 mg and a lockout interval of 10 min (min). The total morphine consumption was recorded. The statistical analysis was performed with the Student's t-test and Chi-square test.ResultsThe duration of post-operative analgesia was significantly prolonged in Group A (1288 ± 288.92 min) than Group B (138 ± 54.92 min). Morphine consumption was also less in Group A (3.1 ± 0.87 mg) than Group B (10.46 ± 1.8 mg). There was a significant difference in the VAS score from 16 to 20 h. No complications were recorded.ConclusionsUltrasound-guided QLB after laparoscopic renal surgery is safer to perform, effective with an increased post-operative duration of analgesia, reduces the consumption of opioids and is associated with fewer side effects.Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.

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