Perioperative regional anaesthesia in kidney transplantation

Abstract

Background. Postoperative analgesia in kidney transplant recipients is challenging due to potential nephrotoxicity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the reduced clearance of opioid metabolites during transient renal impairment. Opioid-sparing multimodal postoperative analgesia using regional analgesia methods could provide better pain control and early activation after kidney transplantation.Aim. To evaluate the clinical results of treatment using regional pain management methods in kidney transplant recipients.Material and methods. A single-center study was conducted at Republican Research Center of Emergency Medicine from 2020 to 2022. The study included 97 patients who underwent heterotopic kidney transplantation from a living related donor. Patients were divided into 3 groups. In group 1 (31 patients), general anesthesia was used. For postoperative analgesia opioid analgesics in combination with metamizole 1000 mg were used. In group 2 (33 recipient patients), a combination of general anesthesia and open transversus abdominis plane block was used. In group 3 (33 recipient patients), a combination of general anesthesia and erector spine plane block was performed. Opioid analgesics were used as a "rescue analgesia" when necessary. The primary study end points were the pain intensity assessed by a visual analogue scale and opioid consumption on the first day after surgery. Secondary endpoints were the time of intestinal motility recovery, the presence of nausea and vomiting, the Intensive Care Unit length of stay and the hospital length of stay.Results. Pain intensity 6 hours after surgery in patients of group 1 was 13.5% and 24.6% higher than in patients of group 2 and 3, respectively. In group 2, pain intensity was 12.8% higher compared to group 3 (p=0.0017). At 12 hours after surgery, the pain intensity was 42% higher in group 1 compared to group 2 and group 3 (p<0.0001). After 18 hours, the pain score in group 3 was 48.5% and 35.7% lower compared to groups 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.0001 and p=0.0016). 24 hours after surgery, the sensation of pain was 18.6% and 65.3% higher in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p<0.0001). The mean dose of narcotic analgesic equivalent to morphine in group 1 was 22.6±8.6 mg, which was 18.5% higher than in group 2 patients. In group 3, it was 12.0±4.3 mg and was 47% lower compared to group 1 (p<0.0001) and 34.7% lower compared to group 2 (p<0.0001) (all comparisons are statistically significant). The adequacy of analgesia and less opioid consumption contributed to the absence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in 75% of cases, early restoration of intestinal motility in 63% compared with the group of patients where opioid analgesics were used for postoperative pain relief.Conclusion. The combined use of general anesthesia and erector spine plane block may be recommended as a method of effective perioperative analgesia in kidney transplantation.