• Di-Han Lu, Xuan-Xian Xu, Rui Zhou, Chen Wang, Liang-Tian Lan, Xiao-Yu Yang, and Xia Feng.
• Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.58 2nd Zhongshan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P.R. China.
• BMC Anesthesiol. 2024 Apr 10; 24 (1): 137137.

BackgroundWith the increasing prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC), optimizing perioperative management is of paramount importance. This study investigates the potential of stellate ganglion block (SGB), known for its stress response-mediating effects, in improving postoperative recovery. We postulate that preoperative SGB may enhance the postoperative recovery of patients undergoing laparoscopic CRC surgery.MethodsWe conducted a randomized controlled trial of 57 patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery at a single center. Patients, aged 18-70 years, were randomly assigned to receive either preoperative SGB or standard care. SGB group patients received 10 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine under ultrasound guidance prior to surgery. Primary outcome was time to flatus, with secondary outcomes encompassing time to defecation, lying in bed time, visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, hospital stays, patient costs, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and 3-year mortality. A per-protocol analysis was used.ResultsTwenty-nine patients in the SGB group and 28 patients in the control group were analyzed. The SGB group exhibited a significantly shorter time to flatus (mean [SD] hour, 20.52 [9.18] vs. 27.93 [11.69]; p = 0.012), accompanied by decreased plasma cortisol levels (mean [SD], postoperatively, 4.01 [3.42] vs 7.75 [3.13], p = 0.02). Notably, postoperative pain was effectively managed, evident by lower VAS scores at 6 h post-surgery in SGB-treated patients (mean [SD], 4.70 [0.91] vs 5.35 [1.32]; p = 0.040). Furthermore, patients in the SGB group experienced reduced hospital stay length (mean [SD], day, 6.61 [1.57] vs 8.72 [5.13], p = 0.042).ConclusionsPreoperative SGB emerges as a promising approach to enhance the postoperative recovery of patients undergoing laparoscopic CRC surgery.Clinical Trial RegistrationChiCTR1900028404, Principal investigator: Xia Feng, Date of registration: 12/20/2019.© 2024. The Author(s).

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