Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2019
Ultrasound-guided transmuscular quadratus lumborum block for elective cesarean section significantly reduces postoperative opioid consumption and prolongs time to first opioid request: a double-blind randomized trial.
Elective cesarean section (ECS) can cause moderate to severe pain that often requires opioid administration. To enhance maternal recovery, and promote mother and baby interaction, it is important to reduce postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Various regional anesthesia techniques have been implemented to improve postoperative pain management following ECS. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of bilateral ultrasound-guided transmuscular quadratus lumborum (TQL) block on reducing postoperative opioid consumption following ECS. ⋯ Bilateral TQL block significantly reduced 24 hours' opioid consumption. Further, we observed significant prolongation in time to first opioid, and significant reduction of pain during the first 6 postoperative hours.