Background: Post-operative analgesia is of vital importance to prevent various undesirable side effects such as respiratory complications, venous thromboembolism, and increased hospital stay. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and Quadratus lumborum (QL) block has been used for post-operative pain relief in various abdominal surgeries as part of the multimodal analgesic approach. Therefore, this randomized, prospective study was conducted to compare the post-operative analgesic efficacy of QL block and TAP block in patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy.Methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Palliative & Intensive Care Medicine, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka. Patients of ASA status I and II, planned for total abdominal hysterectomy under spinal anaesthesia were selected and randomly allocated into two groups (Group A – TAP Block and Group B – QL Block). Hemodynamic status, time of onset of sensory block, mean duration of postoperative analgesia, the amount of rescue analgesic requirements as well as intensity of post-operative pain were assessed at different point of time. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the postoperative pain. Total morphine consumption in 24 hours and time required for 1st postoperative analgesic were recorded.Results: A total of 60 patients were included in this study. The onset of sensory block was faster in Group B than A (22.6±6.5 min & 16.3±5.2 min). VAS score was higher among group A at 10th hours and 18th hours. In case of group B, VAS score was more at 14th hour. Post operatively 1st demand of analgesia was earlier in Group-A (10.4±1.5 vs 14.1±1.7) (p< 0.001). Total analgesic requirement was higher in Group- A than Group B (18.7±4.6 vs11.2±3.8) (p< 0.001).Conclusion: Quadratus Lumborum Block produces longer duration of analgesia, provides optimum post-operative pain control and maintain an excellent hemodynamics than TAP block in patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy.
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