Continuous Paravertebral Infusions as an Effective Adjunct for Postoperative Pain Management in Living Liver Donors: A Retrospective Observational Study

Postoperative pain management after abdominal transplantations

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The aim of this review article is to present current recommendations as well as knowledge gaps and controversies pertaining to commonly utilized postoperative pain management after solid organ transplantation in the abdominal cavity.

RECENT FINDINGS

Postsurgical pain has been identified as one of the major challenges in recovery and treatment after solid organ transplants. Many perioperative interventions and management strategies are available for reducing and managing postoperative pain. Management should be tailored to the individual needs, taking an interdisciplinary and holistic approach and following enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines. Many centers currently utilize peripheral and neuraxial blocks during transplantation surgery, but these techniques are far from standardized practices. The utilization of these procedures is often dependent on transplantation centers' historical methods and perioperative cultures.

SUMMARY

The optimal pain management regimen has not yet been definitively established, and current scientific evidence does not yet support the endorsement of a certain analgesic approach. This objective necessitates the need for high-quality randomized controlled trials.

Local anesthetic dosing and toxicity of adult truncal catheters: a narrative review of published practice

BACKGROUND/IMPORTANCE

Anesthesiologists frequently use truncal catheters for postoperative pain control but with limited characterization of dosing and toxicity.

OBJECTIVE

We reviewed the published literature to characterize local anesthetic dosing and toxicity of paravertebral and transversus abdominis plane catheters in adults.

EVIDENCE REVIEW

We searched the literature for bupivacaine or ropivacaine infusions in the paravertebral or transversus abdominis space in humans dosed for 24 hours. We evaluated bolus dosing, infusion dosing and cumulative 24-hour dosing in adults. We also identified cases of local anesthetic systemic toxicity and toxic blood levels.

FINDINGS

Following screening, we extracted data from 121 and 108 papers for ropivacaine and bupivacaine respectively with a total of 6802 patients. For ropivacaine and bupivacaine, respectively, bolus dose was 1.4 mg/kg (95% CI 0.4 to 3.0, n=2978) and 1.0 mg/kg (95% CI 0.18 to 2.1, n=2724); infusion dose was 0.26 mg/kg/hour (95% CI 0.06 to 0.63, n=3579) and 0.2 mg/kg/hour (95% CI 0.06 to 0.5, n=3199); 24-hour dose was 7.75 mg/kg (95% CI 2.1 to 15.7, n=3579) and 6.0 mg/kg (95% CI 2.1 to 13.6, n=3223). Twenty-four hour doses exceeded the package insert recommended upper limit in 28% (range: 17%-40% based on maximum and minimum patient weights) of ropivacaine infusions and 51% (range: 45%-71%) of bupivacaine infusions. Toxicity occurred in 30 patients and was associated with high 24-hour dose, bilateral catheters, cardiac surgery, cytochrome P-450 inhibitors and hypoalbuminemia.

CONCLUSION

Practitioners frequently administer ropivacaine and bupivacaine above the package insert limits, at doses associated with toxicity. Patient safety would benefit from more specific recommendations to limit excessive dose and risk of toxicity.

Regional anesthesia for transplantation surgery - A White Paper Part 2: Abdominal transplantation surgery

Transplantation surgery continues to evolve and improve through advancements in transplant technique and technology. With the increased availability of ultrasound machines as well as the continued development of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols, regional anesthesia has become an essential component of providing analgesia and minimizing opioid use perioperatively. Many centers currently utilize peripheral and neuraxial blocks during transplantation surgery, but these techniques are far from standardized practices. The utilization of these procedures is often dependent on transplantation centers' historical methods and perioperative cultures. To date, no formal guidelines or recommendations exist which address the use of regional anesthesia in transplantation surgery. In response, the Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia (SATA) identified experts in both transplantation surgery and regional anesthesia to review available literature concerning these topics. The goal of this task force was to provide an overview of these publications to help guide transplantation anesthesiologists in utilizing regional anesthesia. The literature search encompassed most transplantation surgeries currently performed and the multitude of associated regional anesthetic techniques. Outcomes analyzed included analgesic effectiveness of the blocks, reduction in other analgesic modalities-particularly opioid use, improvement in patient hemodynamics, as well as associated complications. The findings summarized in this systemic review support the use of regional anesthesia for postoperative pain control after transplantation surgeries. Part 1 of the manuscript focused on regional anesthesia performed in thoracic transplantation surgeries, and part 2 in abdominal transplantations. Specifically, regional anesthesia in liver, kidney, pancreas, intestinal, and uterus transplants or applicable surgeries are discussed.

A Retrospective Comparison of Three Patient-Controlled Analgesic Strategies: Intravenous Opioid Analgesia Plus Abdominal Wall Nerve Blocks versus Epidural Analgesia versus Intravenous Opioid Analgesia Alone in Open Liver Surgery

Background: Adequate pain control is of crucial importance to patient recovery and satisfaction following abdominal surgeries. The optimal analgesia regimen remains controversial in liver resections. Methods: Three groups of patients undergoing open hepatectomies were retrospectively analyzed, reviewing intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) versus IV-PCA in addition to bilateral rectus sheath and subcostal transversus abdominis plane nerve blocks (IV-PCA + NBs) versus patient-controlled thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA). Patient-reported pain scores and clinical data were extracted and correlated with the method of analgesia. Outcomes included total morphine consumption and numerical rating scale (NRS) at rest and on movement over the first three postoperative days, time to remove the nasogastric tube and urinary catheter, time to commence on fluid and soft diet, and length of hospital stay. Results: The TEA group required less morphine over the first three postoperative days than IV-PCA and IV-PCA + NBs groups (9.21 ± 4.91 mg, 83.53 ± 49.51 mg, and 64.17 ± 31.96 mg, respectively, p < 0.001). Even though no statistical difference was demonstrated in NRS scores on the first three postoperative days at rest and on movement, the IV-PCA group showed delayed removal of urinary catheter (removal on postoperative day 4.93 ± 5.08, 3.87 ± 1.31, and 3.70 ± 1.30, respectively) and prolonged length of hospital stay (discharged on postoperative day 12.71 ± 7.26, 11.79 ± 5.71, and 10.02 ± 4.52, respectively) as compared to IV-PCA + NBs and TEA groups. Conclusions: For postoperative pain management, it is expected that the TEA group required the least amount of opioid; however, IV-PCA + NBs and TEA demonstrated comparable postoperative outcomes, namely, the time to remove nasogastric tube/urinary catheter, to start the diet, and the length of hospital stay. IV-PCA with NBs could thus be a reliable analgesic modality for patients undergoing open liver resections.

Postoperative Analgesia after Open Liver Surgery: Systematic Review of Clinical Evidence

Background: The existing recommendations for after open liver surgery, published in 2019, contains limited evidence on the use of regional analgesia techniques. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize available clinical evidence, published after September 2013, on systemic or blended postoperative analgesia for the prevention or treatment of postoperative pain after open liver surgery. Methods: The PUBMED and EMBASE registries were used for the literature search to identify suitable studies. Keywords for the literature search were selected, with the authors’ agreement, using the PICOS approach: participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, and study design. Results: The literature search led to the retrieval of a total of 800 studies. A total of 36 studies including 25 RCTs, 5 prospective observational, and 7 retrospective observational studies were selected as suitable for this systematic review. Conclusions: The current evidence suggests that, in these patients, optimal postoperative pain management should rely on using a “blended approach” which includes the use of systemic opioids and the infusion of NSAIDs along with regional techniques. This approach warrants the highest efficacy in terms of pain prevention, including the lower incretion of postoperative “stress hormones”, and fewer side effects. Furthermore, concerns about the potential for the increased risk of wound infection related to the use of regional techniques have been ruled out.

Nonopioid Modalities for Acute Postoperative Pain in Abdominal Transplant Recipients

The field of abdominal organ transplantation is multifaceted, with the clinician balancing recipient comorbidities, risks of the surgical procedure, and the pathophysiology of immunosuppression to ensure optimal outcomes. An underappreciated element throughout this process is acute pain management related to the surgical procedure. As the opioid epidemic continues to grow with increasing numbers of transplant candidates on opioids as well the increase in the development of enhanced recovery after surgery protocols, there is a need for greater focus on optimal postoperative pain control to minimize opioid use and improve outcomes. This review will summarize the physiology of acute pain in transplant recipients, assess the impact of opioid use on post-transplant outcomes, present evidence supporting nonopioid analgesia in transplant surgery, and briefly address the perioperative approach to the pretransplant recipient on opioids.

Intermittent Boluses of Local Anesthetic Through Quadratus Lumborum Catheters for Analgesia in a Living Donor Hepatectomy

The demand for liver transplants in the United States far exceeds the supply of organs. As need has increased, so has use of living donors. Coagulopathy and various side effects often preclude the use of neuraxial regional techniques and opioids for postoperative analgesia in patients with large "J" incisions. Here, we present a 25-year-old male undergoing a living donor hepatectomy who received quadratus lumborum catheters placed percutaneously after closure of incision and prior to emergence to provide excellent analgesia and a viable opioid-sparing approach. Quadratus lumborum catheters are a safe option for a multimodal, opioid-sparing approach to analgesia.