Continuous transversus abdominis plane blocks in patients undergoing minimally invasive colorectal surgery: a randomized pilot study.

Purpose: Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks are used in an attempt to decrease narcotic use and its subsequent consequences. The primary goal of this study was to see if TAP blocks decreased narcotic use in patients undergoing minimally invasive colorectal surgery.

Methods: A randomized pilot study was conducted. The amount of narcotic used examined in morphine milligram equivalents (MME) was collected for the first 4 post-operative days (PODs). Demographic data, length of stay (LOS), readmission rate, and 90-day mortality was also examined. Statistical analysis of the data was performed with a p < 0.05 determined to be significant.

Results: Eighty-eight patients were included. Forty-seven were randomized to the TAP group and 41 to the no TAP group. There was no difference in age, race, gender, indication for operation, or Charlson Comorbidity Index (p > 0.05). The median MME for each POD was similar for POD 1 (22.5 vs 37.5; p = 0.054), POD 3 (15 vs 22.5; p = 0.48), and POD 4 (22.5 vs 10.5; p = 0.42) on bivariate analysis. On POD 2, the TAP group had significantly less narcotic intake than the no TAP group (17.5 vs 30; p = 0.047). However, on multivariate analysis when controlling for other variables, there was no statistical difference between the groups. Median LOS was 3 days for both groups. Readmissions, post-operative complications, and mortality were also similar between the two groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that continuous TAP blocks do not decrease the amount of MME used during the first 4 post-operative days compared to patient receiving traditional pain control measures.