Ultrasound Guided Rectus Sheath Block and Transversus Abdominis Plane Block

Laparoscopic surgeries are one of the most frequently performed paediatric surgeries . Although minimally invasive, this technique is still associated with a significant amount of pain and anxiety in children . Indeed, children who are highly anxious prior to surgery tend to have more postoperative pain, delayed hospital discharge, and higher incidence of emergence delirium, sleep disturbances, and other mal-adaptive behaviour changes that can last up to a few weeks following surgery . To improve analgesia and decrease postoperative anxiety in children undergoing laparoscopic appendectomies multimodal approach for pain control can be employed.

Over the past years, the concept of pain management has extended from simply decreasing pain intensity to optimizing patient's condition. The goal is to decrease pain scores, stress response that should be avoided in patients, particularly cardiac patients, together with a decrease in analgesics-related adverse effects like nausea, vomiting, retention of urine and over sedation. By achieving these goals, we can certainly facilitate patient recovery and minimize the hospital stay. Improved pain control can be achieved by a combination of different types of regional analgesia with systemic analgesics. The main contributor to pain post abdominal operations is the pain from abdominal wall incision .

Many procedures were followed to decrease this intense postoperative pain such as, epidural catheter analgesia, transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block, local wound infiltration, Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA), peripheral nerve blocks, in addition to systemic administration of Non-Steroidal Anti- Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) or opioids .

The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is a regional anesthetic technique that provides analgesia to the parietal peritoneum as well as to the skin and muscles of the anterior abdominal wall (9-10). Despite a relatively low risk of complications and a high success rate using modern techniques, TAP block remains overwhelmingly underused. Although the technique is technically straightforward, it has not been adopted in clinical practice .

Moreover, The Rectus Sheath Block (RSB) is one of these regional techniques that are suitable for operations with a midline incision or laparoscopic surgery with the main incision at the umbilical port. A previous study showed the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound guided rectus sheath block for laparoscopic appendectomy compared to a control group injected with saline instead of a local anesthetic Generally, in laparoscopic surgeries, the sites of port incision are associated with considerable postoperative discomfort. Thus, we performed TAP and RS block to ameliorate postoperative pain and improve patient outcomes. In addition to the usefulness of traditional local anesthetics to provide analgesia during the course of the postoperative period is restricted by their short duration of action .

Dexmedetomidine (DEX) and Dexamethasone has been shown as a valuable additives to local anesthetics in neuraxial blocks and peripheral nerve blocks leading to prolongation of postoperative analgesia and better pain control .

Dexmedetomidine (DEX) α-2 adrenergic receptor consists of three α-2 isoreceptors (α-2a, α-2b and α-2c), which regulate the various pharmacodynamic effects of this drug . The α-2a receptor seems to promote sedation and anxiolysis in the locus coeruleus, as well as to generate bradycardia and peripheral vasodilation by stimulation of the cerebral vasomotor center. The α-2b receptor prevents tremor, generates analgesia in the dorsal horns of the spinal cord and determines peripheral vasoconstriction. The α-2c receptor modulates the mental state .

Dexamethasone, a high-potency, long-acting glucocorticoid, has been shown to prolong peripheral nerve blockade . Dexamethasone binds to glucocorticoid receptors and inhibits potassium conductance, which decreases nociceptive C-fiber activity . Dexamethasone may also extend the duration of analgesia via local vasoconstrictive and systemic anti-inflammatory effects .

Thus, we performed TAP and RS block to ameliorate postoperative pain and improve patient outcomes.

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