• T Yoshida, K Furutani, Y Watanabe, N Ohashi, and H Baba.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Kansai Medical University Hospital, 2-3-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata-city, Osaka, Japan ytaka@mac.com.
• Br J Anaesth. 2016 Dec 1; 117 (6): 812-820.

BackgroundThe analgesic efficacy of continuous transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks in comparison with that of single-injection TAP blocks is not clear. This randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the benefits of adding continuous TAP blocks to single-injection TAP blocks after a laparotomy.MethodsEighty consecutive patients undergoing midline laparotomy for gynaecological cancer were randomized and received bilateral TAP infusions with either ropivacaine 0.1% (n=40, Rop group) or normal saline (n=40, NS group) at 10 ml h-1 per side for 50 h after surgery. After surgery, bilateral oblique subcostal TAP blocks were performed using ropivacaine 0.1%, 50 ml per side, and then catheters were threaded into the bilateral TAPs. Subsequently, continuous TAP infusions and patient-controlled i.v. morphine administration were initiated. The primary outcome was cumulative morphine consumption by 24 h after TAP catheter placement. Secondary outcomes included pain scores, postoperative nausea and vomiting severity, and time to first ambulation and flatus.ResultsThe cumulative morphine consumption (median [interquartile range]) 24 h after TAP catheter placement was lower in the Rop group (0.25 [0.11-0.48] mg kg-1) than in the NS group (0.44 [0.24-0.73] mg kg-1; 95% confidence interval difference in medians, -0.30 to - 0.03; P=0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed in the secondary outcomes, except for reduced pain scores in the Rop group obtained during coughing 1 and 24 h after TAP catheter placement.ConclusionsAddition of continuous TAP blocks to single-injection TAP blocks reduces pain and morphine consumption after a laparotomy for gynaecological cancer.Clinical Trial RegistrationUMIN Clinical Trials Registry identification number UMIN000013449 (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm).© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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