Ultrasound-Guided Intercostal Nerve Block and Subcostal Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Posted for Open Cholecystectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Effective postoperative analgesia leads to early mobilization, fewer pulmonary complications, and shorter hospital stay. AIMS: We compared the analgesic effects of ultrasound-guided intercostal nerve (ICN) blocks, subcostal transversus abdominis plane (SCTAP) block, and a control group in open cholecystectomy. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a prospective, randomized controlled, double-blind, multi-arm and parallel study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on patients of American Society of Anaesthesiology Physical Status Classes I and II, either sex, 18–60 years of age, and body mass index 18–30 kg.m(−2). Exclusion criteria were infection at the injection site, coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia, and allergy to the drugs used. Group I (n = 41) received ICN blocks, Group T (n = 41) SCTAP block, and Group C (n = 41) no postoperative block. The duration of analgesia was the primary outcome, and the analgesic consumption, the pain intensity, adverse events, and patient satisfaction were the secondary outcomes. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: For the continuous data, analysis of variance was used for multiple group comparison and intergroup data were analyzed by Student's t-test. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied for ordinal data. P = 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The duration of postoperative analgesia was significantly longer in the ICN (mean = 441.6 min; 95% confidence interval [CI], 407.71, 475.49) and SCTAP block (mean = 417.6 min; 95% CI, 390.94, 444.26) as compared to control (mean = 33.98 min; 95% CI, 26.64, 41.32) (P = 0.00) with no significant intergroup difference between the two intervention groups (P = 0.278). The cumulative analgesic consumption was not significantly different between the intervention groups but was significantly reduced in the study groups when compared with the control group (P < 0.001). No notable adverse events were observed. Patients with both the techniques were very satisfied in comparison with the control group (P = 0.00). CONCLUSION: Both the ICN and SCTAP blocks have similar results in terms of analgesia and patient satisfaction for cholecystectomy.