ISSN: 2155-6148
Jainab Parween*, Manish Jain
Background and aims: Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) block has proven to be an effective component of multimodal analgesic regimen for a variety of abdominal procedures. Morphine has the potential to be an ideal adjuvant in TAP block. We studied the efficacy of morphine as an adjuvant to ropivacaine in TAP block in patients scheduled for abdominal surgery under General anesthesia.
Methods: Sixty patients belonging to American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1 or 2, aged between 18 and 58 years, scheduled for abdominal surgery under GA. Were recruited. Patients in Group A (n=30) received 20 mL 0.375% Ropivacaine whereas those in Group B (n=30) received 20 mL Normal Saline (NS) in the ultrasound (USG)-guided TAP block performed on each side after the completion of the surgery under GA. They were evaluated for pain at 0 min, 30 min, 2 hrs, 4 hrs, 6 hrs, 12 hrs and 24 hrs after the end of surgery, time to first rescue analgesic and duration of postoperative analgesia were noted.
Results: The post-operative Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores were lower in Group A at 4, 6 and 12 h (P<0.05). Mean duration of analgesia was significantly prolonged in Group B with lesser requirement of rescue analgesic (P<0.05) up to 12 hours.
Conclusion: Morphine (2 mg) as an adjuvant to Ropivacaine in USG-guided TAP block reduces post-operative pain scores prolongs the duration of analgesia and decreases demands for rescue analgesics.