A Comparative Study on the Postoperative Analgesic Effects of the Intraperitoneal Instillation of Bupivacaine Versus Normal Saline Following Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is widely performed, and postoperative pain is an important factor in patient morbidity during recovery. Various modalities for postoperative pain relief have been proposed, with varying levels of success such as intravenous or intramuscular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids, infiltration at the incision site with local anesthetics, intraperitoneal infiltration of local anesthetics, intraperitoneal infiltration of local anesthetics with adjuvants, regional anesthesia techniques such as epidurals and nerve blocks. The study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of intraperitoneal instillation of bupivacaine and normal saline on postoperative analgesia, postoperative nausea, and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods This prospective, controlled, and randomized study included 60 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I and ASA II patients, aged 18-50 years, who were scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia. The patients were classified randomly into two groups with an equal number of participants: Group B received intraperitoneal instillation of 30 ml of plain bupivacaine 0.5% and Group N received 30 ml of normal saline. Postoperative pain was recorded using the visual analog scale (VAS) for 24 hours after surgery. Postoperative shoulder pain, nausea, vomiting, and the time taken to request rescue analgesia were noted. Results Patients receiving intraperitoneal bupivacaine showed a significant reduction in postoperative pain for the first six hours postoperatively (P = 0.04); moreover, the time taken to request rescue analgesia requirement was prolonged (P = 0.04). Side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, were similar between the two groups (P = 0.1 and p = 0.09, respectively) while shoulder pain was significantly lower in the bupivacaine group (P = 0.04). Conclusion Bupivacaine is effective in reducing postoperative pain, and it prolongs the requirement time for rescue analgesia. It also reduces the incidence of shoulder pain but does not decrease postoperative nausea and vomiting.