[Efficacy of Transversus Abdominis and Rectus Sheath Blocks in Combination with Continuous Intravenous Fentanyl for Postoperative Analgesia of Laparoscopic Colectomy: A Retrospective Study].

Background: Ultrasound-guided transversus ab- dominis plane (TAP) and rectus sheath (RS) blocks are peripheral nerve blocks that diminish somatic pain of the abdominal wall and are useful for postoperative analgesia. Here, we retrospectively compared the effi- cacy of ultrasound-guided TAP and RS blocks in com- bination with continuous intravenous fentanyl for postoperative analgesia of laparoscopic colectomy.

Methods: The ethics committee of our institute ap- proved the study. In our hospital, postoperative analge- sia is performed with continuous intravenous fentanyl administration at three concentrations : 12.5, 18.75, and 31.25 μg · hr⁻¹. TAP and RS blocks were applied using 30-40 ml of 0.19-0.25% ropivacaine. We selected 43 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy from May to October 2015. We compared the fentanyl only group (F group, n=26) and block combination group (F+B group, n=17). Statistical analysis was performed with the Mann-Whitney U test P<0.05 was considered significant Results : Patient characteristics including age, height, body weight, duration of anesthesia, and surgery did not significantly differ between the two groups. The concentration of intravenous fentanyl was significantly lower in the F+B group than in the F group (F group : 19.5±8.4μg · hr⁻¹, F+B group : 14.7?4.9 μg · hr⁻¹, P=0.02). In the present study, TAP and RS blocks significantly reduced the dose of administered fentanyl. - Conclusions : Our findings suggest that a combina- tion of TAP and RS blocks lower the dose of continu- ous intravenous fentanyl needed, and may provide better postoperative analgesia after laparoscopic colec- tomy.