• Maitreyi Gajanan Mankikar, Shalini Pravin Sardesai, and Poonam Sachin Ghodki.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
• Indian J Anaesth. 2016 Apr 1; 60 (4): 253-7.

Background And AimsTransversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is a fascial plane block providing post-operative analgesia in patients undergoing surgery with infra-umbilical incisions. We evaluated analgesic efficacy of TAP block with ropivacaine for 24 h after caesarean section through a Pfannenstiel incision.MethodsSixty patients undergoing caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia were randomised to undergo TAP block with ropivacaine (n = 30) versus control group (n = 30) with normal saline, in addition to standard analgesia with intravenous paracetamol and tramadol. At the end of the surgery, ultrasound-guided TAP plane block was given bilaterally using ropivacaine or normal saline (15 ml on either side). Each patient was assessed post-operatively by a blinded investigator at regular intervals up to 24 h for visual analogue score (VAS) and requirement of analgesia. SPSS version 18.0 software was used. Demographic data were analysed using Student's t-test and the other parameters using paired t-test.ResultsTAP block with ropivacaine compared with normal saline reduced post-operative VAS at 24 h (P = 0.004918). Time for rescue analgesia in the study group was prolonged from 4.1 to 9.53 h (P = 0.01631). Mean requirement of tramadol in the first 24 h was reduced in the study group.ConclusionUS guided TAP block after caesarean section reduces the analgesic requirement in the first 24 h.

4 keywords...

hide…