Comparison of post-operative analgesic efficacy of rectus sheath catheter versus continuous wound infiltration for laparotomy surgery

Abstract

Background: The analgesic requirement of patients following laparotomy surgeries could not be met by single method.Pain, if effectively managed in the post operative period will reduce the respiratory complications, decrease the hospital stay and health care cost for the patients. Ultrasound guided rectus sheath catheter allows continuous infiltration of local anaesthetic in the post operative period. Materials and Methods: Randomised controlled trial – 60 patients who underwent Laparotomy surgery were divided into 2 groups. Group A – Bilateral wound catheter was placed subcutaneously at the end of surgery. Group B –Rectus sheath catheter was placed bilaterally under USG guidance. Both patient received bolus of 10ml 0.25% Bupivacaine followed by infusion of 0.25% Bupivacaine at 2ml/hr for 48hrs. The hemodynamic parameters,VAS score, Post operative opioid consumption were recorded for the above mentioned period. Results: The VAS score was significantly low in Group B compared to Group A (2.2, 2.0, 1.67, 1.87, 1.7, 2.17 vs 3.93, 3.86, 3.6,3.97, 4.1, 3.8)(p<0.05) in the observed time intervals. The need for rescue analgesia with opioid was less in Group B (6.7%) compared to patients in Group A (26.7%) (p<0.05). The HR, MAP observed in Group A is increased significantly as compared to Group B at all time intervals (p<0.05). Conclusion: We concluded that USG guided Rectus sheath catheter provides better post operative analgesia in laparotomy surgeries than wound catheter infusion.