• G Dilip Kumar, N Gnanasekar, Pranjali Kurhekar, and T Krishna Prasad.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Shri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry, India.
• Anesth Essays Res. 2018 Oct 1; 12 (4): 919-923.

ContextTraditional truncal blocks are devoid of visceral analgesia. Quadratus lumborum (QL) block has shown greater efficacy in providing the same.AimsThis study was done to compare the efficacy of transversus abdominal plane (TAP) block versus QL block in providing postoperative analgesia for lower abdominal surgeries.Settings And DesignThis was a prospective, randomized, double-blinded study.Subjects And MethodsSeventy adult patients were randomly allocated into two groups, where Group A received TAP block with 20 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine on each side (n = 35) and Group B received QL block with 20 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine on each side (n = 35). The time of block, duration of surgery, Numerical Pain Intensity Scale (NPIS) score at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 24th postoperative hours, and the total analgesic drug requirements were noted and compared between the two groups.Statistical Analysis UsedData were analyzed with SPSS version 23 (IBM corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) with independent t-test and Chi-square test as appropriate. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe time for first analgesic requirement was 243.00 ± 97.36 min and 447.00 ± 62.52 min and the total analgesic consumption (morphine in mg) was 5.65 ± 1.55 and 3.25 ± 0.78 in Group A and Group B, respectively, both of which were statistically significant (P < 0.01). There was a significant difference in postoperative pain scores (NPIS scale 0-10) at rest, between the two groups, up to 16 h.ConclusionsPatients who received QL block had a significant improvement in postoperative pain relief with reduced consumption of opioids.

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