Efficacy of ultrasound-guided rectus sheath block, butorphanol for single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A prospective, randomized, clinical trial

Abstract

Background: Whether rectus sheath block (RSB) combined with butorphanol can relieve incision pain and visceral pain in patients undergoing single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) remains unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of ultrasound-guided bilateral RSB, butorphanol on postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing SILC. Methods: All 116 patients who met the criteria were randomly divided into four groups: (Ⅰ) (n=29) general anesthesia combined with patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) (sufentanil 100ug); (Ⅱ) (n=29) general anesthesia combined with PCIA (butorphanol 8mg); (Ⅲ) (n=29) ultrasound-guided RSB combined with PCIA (sufentanil 100ug). (Ⅳ) (n=29) RSB combined with PCIA (butorphanol 8mg). Outcomes included visual analog scale (VAS) scores of incisional and visceral pain at rest and cough at 2,6,12 and 24h postoperatively, if a patient’s pain score＞3, then butorphanol 2mg was administered intravenously. the dose of butorphanol and opioids, the pressing numbers of PCIA, the length of hospital stay and the incidence of postoperative adverse events. Results: Both rest and cough pain scores were lower during first 2,6 hours in group Ⅲ than groupⅠ, similarly, group Ⅳwas significantly lower than groupⅡ. GroupⅠneeded more butorphanol as rescue analgesic for pain relief than group Ⅲ, group Ⅳ was better than group Ⅱ. In the above pairwise comparisons, it was clear that group Ⅲ and group Ⅳ had lower VAS scores. VAS scores of visceral pain was lower in groupⅡ at 2, 6 and 12 h after surgery compared with the groupⅠ. In the both groups Ⅲ and Ⅳ, the group Ⅳ was also lower than groupⅢ. Overall, RSB combined with PCIA (butorphanol 8mg) is the best match. Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided RSB combined with butorphanol can provide sufficient pain treatment after SILC. Trial registration: The study was registered prospectively with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry（reg no.ChiCTR1900020738), obtained ethics committee of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University approval (approved number: 2018-K067).