Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block for post-operative analgesia in inguinal hernia repair

Context: Postoperative pain for inguinal hernia repair has been traditionally managed with infiltration of the wound with a local anesthetic. However, ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has recently been used with precision to achieve effective control of postoperative pain. Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound-guided TAP block for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair. Settings and Design: This was institutional-based randomized prospective clinical study. Materials and Methods: Adult patients were randomly allocated into those who received TAP block with bupivacaine (group T) and control group C was managed with rescue analgesia. Postoperative visual analogue score, time to first rescue analgesia, visual analogue score at first rescue dose, and total rescue doses consumed were assessed for both the groups. Statistical Analysis Used: Independent t-test, Fisher's exact test, and Chi-square test were used to analysis the data. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was no statistical difference for the demographic profile among the groups. On comparing the two groups, time to first rescue analgesia dose was longer in group T compared to group C (P = 0.01). Postoperative VAS scores and total rescue analgesia consumption was lower for the T group compared to group C up to 12 hours. Conclusions: TAP block is an effective tool in postoperative pain control. It is safe and easy to accomplish this block with the real-time ultrasonography.