[Ultrasound-guided cutaneous intercostal branches nerves block: A good analgesic alternative for gallbladder open surgery]

Ultrasonography Guided Modified BRILMA (Blocking the Cutaneous Branches of Intercostal Nerves in the Middle Axillary Line) Block in Bariatric Surgery

Background: Postoperative pain is one of the major problems after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy besides complications. Management of pain control is still unclear in the obese population. Modified BRILMA (blocking the cutaneous branches of intercostal nerves in the middle axillary line) is a new analgesia technique which is performed by ultrasonography guided through the way between eighth and ninth rib level. This study is to evaluate the efficiency of modified BRILMA in bariatric patients while comparing with trocar site infiltration. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective designed retrospective data analysis study. Patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy between June 2019 and January 2020 were divided into two groups. One group underwent BRILMA block; the other group used traditional trocar site injection. Postoperative pain was followed by using visual analogue scale (VAS) (at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 hours postoperatively). Results: Thirty patients were included in the study. Twenty-four (80%) of the patients were women, and 6 (20%) of the patients were men. Mean body mass index of patients were 39.83 ± 4.02 kg/m2. Mean operational time was calculated 86.16 ± 19.94 minutes. When the patients' VAS was compared, 12th hour VAS value was statistically less in the BRILMA group. There were no significant differences in other hours' VAS between two groups. When compared with the use of opioid amount, there were no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P = .66), but BRILMA group had less amount. Conclusion: Modified BRILMA is an alternative technique to the use of trocar site bupivacain injection in bariatric surgery. It is new technique that is tried in bariatric population, which is also cost-effective and has less opioid consumption.

Assessment of Ultrasound-Guided Continuous Low Serratus Anterior Plane Block for Pain Management After Hepatectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose

Adequate postoperative analgesia is a key to earlier recovery from open surgery. This work investigated the pain control and quality of patient recovery after hepatectomy to evaluate the modified continuous serratus anterior plane block (called low SAPB) for postoperative analgesia.

Patients and Methods

This single-center, blinded, randomized, controlled study included 136 patients who underwent hepatectomy under general anesthesia. For postoperative analgesia, the patients in the SAPB group were given a continuous low SAPB at the 7th intercostal space in the right mid-axillary line, and the patients in the control group were given continuous intravenous opioid analgesia. The numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) was used for pain assessment. The postoperative assessment focused on the remedial drug consumption, the occurrence of adverse postoperative analgesic reactions, and the quality of patient recovery evaluated with the QoR-15 questionnaire.

Results

Compared to the controls, the SAPB patients had significantly lower NPRS scores at 12 h and 24 h at rest and 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h in motion, and a longer time to first use of remedial analgesics at 24 h, and higher overall QoR-15 scores at 24 h [124 (121, 126) vs 121 (120, 124)] and 48 h [129 (126, 147) vs 126 (125, 128)], after surgery. There was no significant difference in the incidence of analgesia-related adverse reactions between the two groups.

Conclusion

The continuous low SAPB could achieve superior pain control, especially for motor pain, to intravenous opioid analgesia during the first 24 h post-surgery. Even with no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative adverse reactions, patients with continuous low SAPB appeared to have a higher quality of recovery in the first two days post-surgery than patients with continuous intravenous analgesia.

Unilateral Right-Sided Ultrasound-Guided Erector Spinae Plane Block for Post-Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Analgesia: A Randomized Control Trial

Background

Post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) pain control is still an issue postoperatively.

Objectives

We investigated the effectiveness of the unilateral right-side ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block (ESPB) on post-LC pain intensity and opioid consumption.

Methods

This is a parallel-arm randomized control trial on 62 adult patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status ≤ 2 who underwent LC. The patients were randomized into 2 groups (the block group [BG] and the control group [CG]; n = 31 per group). BG received a single-shot right-sided T7 ESPB with 20 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine at arrival time in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). CG) received no regional anesthesia. Both groups received patient-controlled intravenous fentanyl and rescue meperidine for analgesia. The primary outcome was the pain intensity determined using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) in the first 24 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes included total fentanyl and meperidine consumption within 24 hours.

Results

Median pain scores were significantly higher in CG at rest and with coughing up to 12 hours after surgery compared with BG. Pain scores were higher in CG with a cough at 24 hours compared with BG (median 1 [interquartile range (IQR) 1, 2] vs. 1 [1, 0]; P = 0.0005). Total fentanyl consumption and meperidine consumption within 24 hours were significantly lower in BG compared with CG (median 60 µg [IQR 60, 90] vs 250 µg [90, 300]; P < 0.0001 and median 20 µg [IQR 10, 20] vs 25 [20, 25]; P = 0.002, respectively).

Conclusions

A single-shot, right-sided, unilateral ESPB decreases post-LC opioid consumption and pain.

Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided Modified BRILMA Block with Subcostal Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Aims

Subcostal Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) block is the standard practice for postoperative analgesia following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of modified BRILMA Block (blocking the BRanches of Intercostal nerves at the Level of Mid-Axillary line) with Subcostal TAP block for pain relief following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methods

Sixty cases scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly divided into two groups: modified BRILMA block (Group B) and Subcostal TAP block (Group T). General anesthesia was standardized for both groups. Blocks were performed with 20 mL of 0.2% Ropivacaine under ultrasound guidance after induction of anesthesia. Patients were administered morphine through patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump with a bolus dose of 1 mg, 10 min lockout interval, and a basal infusion rate of 0.1 mg/h. The pain was assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores of one to ten. The total morphine consumption, time to first request for rescue analgesia, and VAS scores at rest and with movement, and complications, if any, were recorded.

Results

The morphine consumption in Group B was 5.67 ± 1.98 mg and in Group T was 5.17 ± 1.85 mg, which was found to be statistically insignificant (p-value = 0.317). The time to first request for rescue analgesia was 759.33 ± 80.29 min in Group B which was comparable to 854 ± 93.01 min in Group T and statistically insignificant (p-value = 0.295). The average VAS scores at rest as well as on movement were comparable in both the groups during the entire 24 h postoperative period. No complications were encountered in our study.

Conclusion

Ultrasound-guided modified BRILMA block is equally efficacious as subcostal TAP block in providing postoperative analgesia with similar morphine consumption and no significant difference in VAS scores at rest and movement following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Trial Registration Number

CTRI/2020/02/023457.

Ultrasound-Guided Intercostal Nerve Block and Subcostal Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Posted for Open Cholecystectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background:

Effective postoperative analgesia leads to early mobilization, fewer pulmonary complications, and shorter hospital stay.

Aims:

We compared the analgesic effects of ultrasound-guided intercostal nerve (ICN) blocks, subcostal transversus abdominis plane (SCTAP) block, and a control group in open cholecystectomy.

Settings and Design:

This was a prospective, randomized controlled, double-blind, multi-arm and parallel study.

Materials and Methods:

The study was conducted on patients of American Society of Anaesthesiology Physical Status Classes I and II, either sex, 18–60 years of age, and body mass index 18–30 kg.m⁻². Exclusion criteria were infection at the injection site, coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia, and allergy to the drugs used. Group I (n = 41) received ICN blocks, Group T (n = 41) SCTAP block, and Group C (n = 41) no postoperative block. The duration of analgesia was the primary outcome, and the analgesic consumption, the pain intensity, adverse events, and patient satisfaction were the secondary outcomes.

Statistical Analysis:

For the continuous data, analysis of variance was used for multiple group comparison and intergroup data were analyzed by Student's t-test. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied for ordinal data. P = 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant.

Results:

The duration of postoperative analgesia was significantly longer in the ICN (mean = 441.6 min; 95% confidence interval [CI], 407.71, 475.49) and SCTAP block (mean = 417.6 min; 95% CI, 390.94, 444.26) as compared to control (mean = 33.98 min; 95% CI, 26.64, 41.32) (P = 0.00) with no significant intergroup difference between the two intervention groups (P = 0.278). The cumulative analgesic consumption was not significantly different between the intervention groups but was significantly reduced in the study groups when compared with the control group (P < 0.001). No notable adverse events were observed. Patients with both the techniques were very satisfied in comparison with the control group (P = 0.00).

Conclusion:

Both the ICN and SCTAP blocks have similar results in terms of analgesia and patient satisfaction for cholecystectomy.

Case report: serratus intercostal plane block/BRILMA and sedation for mastectomy in a high risk patient

Breast cancer surgery can benefit from regional anaesthesia techniques, which can be used as a sole anaesthetic procedure in some cases where risk for general anaesthesia is high. Regional anaesthesia allows early recovery, reduces postoperative opioid and non opioid analgesics consumption and helps early home discharge, reducing thus costs. We present a case of an 87-year-old woman with multiple comorbidities who underwent breast cancer surgery. The patient was successfully surgically treated under serratus intercostal plane block anaesthesia. We discuss the use and benefits of the serratus intercostal plane block in thoracic procedures.

Radiological study to evaluate the spreading of two volumes (10 vs. 20ml) of radiological contrast in the block of cutaneous branches of intercostal nerves in medial axillary line (BRILMA) in a porcine experimental model

OBJECTIVE

Interfascial blocks of the thoracic wall are being developed as an alternative to central blocks in breast surgery. However, there are few studies that have evaluated the anatomical extension of the local anaesthetic. The objective of this study was to analyse, using fluoroscopy, the spreading of two volumes (10 vs. 20ml) of radiological contrast in the serratus-intercostal plane block in an experimental pig model.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Ten Large-White breed pigs were selected to have a bilateral ultrasound serratus-intercostal plane block performed, with the administering of 10ml and 20ml of iopamidol in the right and left hemithorax, respectively. The spreading of contrast was analysed by fluoroscopy. The Spearman test correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between the administered volume and radiological spreading. A value of P<.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

Twenty anaesthetic blocks were performed, being able to analyse 18 of them. The administration of 10ml of contrast was associated with a mean spreading of 2.28±0.31 (95% CI; 2.01-2.54) intercostal spaces, while the administration of 20ml showed a spreading of 3±0.25 (95% CI; 2.81-3.18) intercostal spaces. There was a significant correlation between the injected volume and the spreading of the contrast (Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.81; P=.0001).

CONCLUSION

The results showed a spreading of volume subject to the serratus-intercostal plane block, although not maintaining a 1:1 ratio. Doubling the volume increased the blocked segments by 31%. These findings, if corroborated in the clinical practice, would allow a more precise adjustment in the anaesthetic volume administered.

Serratus-intercostal interfascial block as an opioid-saving strategy in supra-umbilical open surgery

INTRODUCTION

The administration of local anaesthetic in the serratus-intercostal space provides adequate analgesia in non-reconstructive breast surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the blockage of the last intercostal nerves (T7-T11) can lead to opioid savings in supra-umbilical open surgery procedures.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted on patients undergoing open supra-umbilical surgery under general anaesthesia and with a serratus-intercostal plane block [modified Blocking the bRanches of IntercostaL nerves in the Middle Axillary line (BRILMA)] as an associated analgesic strategy. Post-operative pain was assessed with the numerical verbal scale (NVS 0 to 10) on admission to the post-anAesthesia recovery unit, at 6, 12, 24, and 48h postintervention and by need for analgesic rescues with opioids (2mg iv of morphine, if values higher than 3 in NVS). Adverse events related to the technique were also recorded. The statistical package used in the analysis of the data was SPSS® for Windows.

RESULTS

The study recruited 52 patients. Differences, with a p<.05, were found intra-operatively in the consumption of fentanyl: 400 + 80μg versus 110 + 50μg in patients who underwent pre-incisional blockade. In the first 24hours, only 3 cases (two gastrectomies and one cholecystectomy) required morphine (single bolus of 2mg). Between 24h and 48h it was necessary to administer several morphine boluses (8 + 2mg) in four patients (three gastrectomies and one cholecystectomy). Four patients presented with nausea and / or vomiting and there were no complications related to the analgesic technique.

CONCLUSION

The intercostal nerves block (T7-T11) in the serratus-intercostal space may constitute an opioid-sparing analgesic strategy in open supra-umbilical surgery.