scholarly journals The use of bilateral transversus abdominis plane blocks with liposomal bupivacaine on postoperative cesarean delivery patients during COVID-19 pandemic is associated with reduced narcotics use and reduced length of stay

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174550652110580
Author(s):  
Dennis E Feierman ◽  
Jason Kim ◽  
Aden Bronstein ◽  
Agnes Miller ◽  
Christein Dgheim ◽  
...  

Background: The use of transversus abdominis plane blocks has been previously shown in both large-scale studies and our own institution to significantly reduce postoperative pain and opioid use. In addition, the use of bilateral transversus abdominis plane blocks using liposomal bupivacaine in combination with neuraxial morphine significantly reduced post-cesarean-delivery pain and opioid use. During the COVID-19 crisis, our anesthesia department in a collaborative effort with our obstetric colleagues thought that the use of bilateral transversus abdominis plane blocks with liposomal bupivacaine could reduce the use of opioids to treat postoperative pain and might result in decreased length of stay. Methods: After institutional review board approval, a retrospective study of 288 patients who underwent cesarean delivery under spinal or epidural (neuraxial) anesthesia at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY was conducted. Historical controls were from 142 consecutive patients from 1 January 2012 through 12 May 2012. An additional set of controls consisted of 30 consecutive patients from 10 March 2020 through 13 April 2020. The primary outcome data analyzed were the use of opioids and length of stay. Results: Post cesarean delivery, patients who received both bilateral transversus abdominis plane blocks with liposomal bupivacaine and neuraxial morphine was associated with a significant decrease in the number of patients using post operative opioids, 54%–60% decreased to 18% ( p < 0.001), and a decreased length of stay; 3.1 days was reduced to 2.39 ( p < 0.001). Conclusion: Neuraxial opioids combined with liposomal bupivacaine transversus abdominis plane blocks provided significant pain relief for patients post cesarean delivery, required less post operative opioids, and facilitated earlier discharge that may aid in reducing patient exposure and hospital burden secondary to COVID-19.

2021 ◽  
pp. 345-358

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing bariatric surgery present unique analgesic challenges, including poorly controlled pain, increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, and opioid-induced respiratory depression. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) has been demonstrated to be a safe and effective component of multimodal analgesia for a variety of abdominal surgeries. OBJECTIVE: To determine the benefits of the TAP block on postoperative analgesia and recovery in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases from inception to April 2020 for studies using TAP block in bariatric surgeries and reporting postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and recovery-related outcomes. Primary outcomes included postoperative pain scores, opioid consumption, and recovery-related outcomes (e.g., length of stay, time to ambulation). Outcomes were pooled using random effects model and reported as relative risks (RR) or mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Twenty-one studies (15 RCTs [n = 1410] and 6 nonrandomized studies [n = 1959]) were included. Among RCTs, the TAP block group required fewer opioid rescues (RR 0.28; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.42, P < 0.001) (moderate quality); reduced total opioid use over 24 hours (MD –8.33; 95% CI –14.78 to –1.89, P = 0.01); decreased time to ambulation (MD –1.12 hours; 95% CI –1.50 to –0.73, P < 0.001) (high quality); and had significantly lower pain scores at 6 hours (MD –1.52; 95% CI –1.90 to –1.13, P < 0.01) and 12 hours (MD –0.95; 95% CI –1.34 to –0.56, P < 0.001) on a 0-10 pain scale (moderate quality). No difference was observed for nausea and vomiting, or hospital length of stay. Meta-analyzed outcomes from observational studies supported these results, suggesting decreased postoperative pain and opioid consumption. LIMITATIONS: Studies varied with respect to type of surgery and components of comparator multimodal analgesia, likely contributing to heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses by type of comparator group were conducted to address these differences. We were unable to extract data from all trials included due to variability in outcomes reporting, such as non-opioid drugs for postoperative pain management or invalid dosages. Pain-related outcomes may be affected by operative differences leading to variation in visceral pain. Observational studies have their inherent limitations, such as confounding due to lack of participant randomization and intervention blinding, potentially affecting subjective outcomes, such as pain scores, as well as provider-dependent outcomes, such as hospital length of stay. Lastly, there was significant variation of TAP block technique across all studies. CONCLUSION: TAP block is an effective, safe modality that can be performed under anesthesia. It decreases pain, opioid use, and time to ambulation after bariatric surgeries and should be considered in multimodal analgesia for enhanced recovery in this high-risk surgical population. KEY WORDS: Analgesia, bariatric surgery, enhanced recovery after surgery, multimodal analgesia, opioid-sparing analgesia, pain, postoperative, regional block, transversus abdominis plane block


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1372-1376
Author(s):  
Steven Peter Bisch ◽  
Joni Kooy ◽  
Sarah Glaze ◽  
Anna Cameron ◽  
Pamela Chu ◽  
...  

BackgroundTreatment of ovarian cancer often requires extensive surgical resection. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has been utilized in benign gynecologic surgery to decrease post-operative pain and opioid use. We hypothesized that TAP blocks would decrease total opioid use in the first 24 hours and decrease length of stay following staging and cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer compared with either no local anesthetic or local wound infiltration alone.MethodsAll patients undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer from November 2016 to June 2017 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Median opioid use at 24, 48, and 72 hours post-operatively, as well as length of stay, were assessed. Multivariate median regression analysis was performed to adjust for potential confounders: post-operative non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) usage, pre-operative opioid consumption, and extent of cytoreductive surgery. Length of stay was compared using Cox regression analysis.ResultsOne-hundred-and-twenty patients were included in the analysis. Eighty-two patients had a TAP block, while 38 did not. After adjusting for potential confounders there was no difference in median 24 hours opioid consumption (p=0.29) or length of stay (HR 0.95, p=0.78) between patients receiving TAP block compared with those without. After adjusting for potential confounders, patients receiving scheduled NSAIDs had a 2.6-fold greater likelihood of being discharged (p<0.0005) and a significant reduction in median opioid use at 24 hours (23.5 vs 14.5 mg) (p=0.017) compared with those patients without NSAIDs.DiscussionPost-operative administration of NSAIDs, but not TAP block, was associated with a decrease in post-operative opioid use and length of stay following surgery for ovarian cancer. Further investigation into alternative regional anesthetics for Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols is warranted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117822342096736
Author(s):  
Ryan Guffey ◽  
Grace Keane ◽  
Austin Y Ha ◽  
Rajiv Parikh ◽  
Elizabeth Odom ◽  
...  

Purpose: We have shown previously that a preoperative paravertebral nerve block is associated with improved postoperative recovery in microvascular breast reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of a complete enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol with complete regional anesthesia coverage to our traditional care with paravertebral block. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 83 patients who underwent autologous breast reconstruction by T.M.M. between May 2014 and February 2018 at a tertiary academic center. Patients in the ERAS group were additionally administered acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), gabapentin, a transversus abdominis plane block (liposomal or plain bupivacaine), and primarily oral opioids postoperatively. The patients were mobilized earlier with more rapid diet progression. All patients received a preoperative paravertebral block. Results: Forty-four patients in the ERAS cohort were compared with 39 retrospective controls. The 2 groups were similar with respect to demographics and comorbidities. The ERAS cohort required significantly less opioids (291 vs 707 mg oral morphine equivalent, P < .0001) with unchanged postoperative pain scores and a shorter time to oral only opioid use (16.0 vs 78.2 hours, P < .0001). Median length of stay (3.20 vs 4.62, P < .0001) and time to independent ambulation (1.86 vs 2.88, P < .0001) were also significantly decreased in the ERAS cohort. Liposomal bupivacaine use did not significantly affect the results ( P ⩾ .2). Conclusions: Implementation of a robust enhanced recovery protocol with complete regional anesthesia coverage was associated with significantly decreased opioid use despite unchanged pain scores, with improved markers of recovery including length of stay, time to oral only narcotics, and time to independent ambulation.


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