Continuous coeliac plexus blockade plus intermittent wound infiltration with bupivacaine following upper abdominal surgery: a double-blind randomised study.

In this double-blind trial, we observed the effect of intermittent wound infiltration with local anaesthetic plus continuous coeliac plexus blockade on postoperative pain relief, pulmonary function, the neuroendocrine and acute phase protein response following upper abdominal surgery. In Group A (n = 10) patients received bupivacaine intermittently into the wound and continuously into the coeliac plexus following an initial bolus. A total of 862.5 mg of bupivacaine was used over 12 h with no observed toxicity. Group B (n = 10) received equal volumes of saline. Although pain relief was poor in both groups, the bupivacaine group used less morphine postoperatively and had lower pain scores than the saline group 4 h after operation (P less than 0.05). Pulmonary function was significantly reduced in both groups with no statistical difference between the two. Significant reductions in serum glucose and cortisol were achieved (P less than 0.05), suggesting that afferent neural blockade was partially effective in attenuating the neuroendocrine response. However, the postoperative rise in interleukin-6 was not affected by this technique. It is concluded that total afferent neural blockade cannot be achieved with peripheral wound and coeliac plexus administration of relatively large doses of local anaesthetic during upper abdominal surgery.