Evaluation of chronic post-inguinal herniorrhaphy pain in patients receiving ultrasound-guided ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerve block with lidocaine (5%) patch

Aim To assess the efficacy of preemptive analgesia in the form of ultrasound-guided (IIN / IHN) block alone or with lidocaine (5%) patch on (US) acute, chronic post-herniorrhaphy pain and patient satisfaction. Patients and methods Preemptive US guided IIN / IHN block was performed on 60 patients (equally distributed into two groups) planned to undergo unilateral inguinal hernia operation under general anesthesia, 30 patients without lidocaine (5%) patch (group I) and 30 patients with lidocaine (5%) patch in the postoperative day 0 (group II). The groups were compared regarding patient satisfaction, intensity of postoperative pain, chronic post-herniorrhaphy pain, and its impact on daily activities. Results There were considerable differences between two groups as regards Douleur Neuropathique en 4 questions as it was higher in group I, P value less than 0.001. There was a significant increase in Brief Pain Inventory short form score postoperatively through 1, 3, and 6 months in group I, P value of 0.033. On the other hand, there were insignificant differences within each group as regards Brief Pain Inventory at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively with P values of 0.378, 0.931, and 0.934, respectively. There were insignificant differences regarding the patient’s satisfaction and postoperative visual analog scale. Conclusions US guided IIN / IHN block provides good perioperative pain control for inguinal hernia-repair surgeries. Addition of lidocaine (5%) patch may increase patient satisfaction and improve chronic postoperative pain outcome.