Analgesic effect of ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block with or without rectus sheath block in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a randomized, controlled trial

Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is commonly used for pain control in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, significant pain persists, affecting patient recovery and sleep quality on the day of surgery. We compared the analgesic effect of ultrasound-guided TAP block with or without rectus sheath (RS) block in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the visual analog scale (VAS) scores.

The study was registered before patient enrollment at the Clinical Research Information Service (registration number: KCT0006468, 19/08/2021). 88 American Society of Anesthesiologist physical status I-III patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were divided into two groups. RS-TAP group received right lateral and right subcostal TAP block, and RS block with 0.2% ropivacaine (30 mL); Bi-TAP group received bilateral and right subcostal TAP block with same amount of ropivacaine. The primary outcome was visual analogue scale (VAS) for 48 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included the use of rescue analgesics, cumulative intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) consumption, patient satisfaction, sleep quality, and incidence of adverse events.

There was no significant difference in VAS score between two groups for 48 h postoperatively. We found no difference between the groups in any of the secondary outcomes: the use of rescue analgesics, consumption of IV-PCA, patient satisfaction with postoperative pain control, sleep quality, and the incidence of postoperative adverse events.

Both RS-TAP and Bi-TAP blocks provided clinically acceptable pain control in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, although there was no significant difference between two combination blocks in postoperative analgesia or sleep quality.