Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Women Undergoing Lower Segment Caesarean Section

Background: Effective postoperative analgesia after lower segment caesarean section (LSCS) is a critical component of maternal well-being. The contemporary method of ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has become one of the potential solutions to decrease the postoperative pain and opioid use. The current study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the TAP block with ultrasound in postoperative analgesia in women undergoing elective LSCS. Material and Methods: A prospective observational study was done on n=60 patients having elective LSCS done under spinal anesthesia. The patients were separated into two groups: Group T (n=30) actually underwent ultrasound-guided TAP block, and Group C (n=30) actually underwent the standard postoperative analgesia. The measure of pain was done using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours. Time to first rescue analgesia, total consumption of tramadol, the number of adverse effects, and patient satisfaction were measured. Results: Group T had lower VAS scores in all periods of time (p < 0.001). Time to first rescue analgesia was significantly prolonged in Group T (385.6 ± 45.8 min vs 125.4 ± 28.6 min, p < 0.001). Total tramadol consumption was significantly reduced (42.5 ± 18.6 mg vs 142.8 ± 32.4 mg, p < 0.001). Group T had a significantly lower incidence of nausea, vomiting, and sedation (p < 0.05). Patient satisfaction scores were significantly higher in the TAP group (4.6 ± 0.5 vs 3.2 ± 0.8, p < 0.001). Conclusion: TAP block is a successful analgesic method in the postoperative period, decreases the amount of opioid needed, has fewer adverse events, and enhances patient satisfaction with LSCS. It is an important ingredient of multimodal analgesia during caesarean section.

Keywords: TAP block, caesarean section, Postoperative Analgesia, Ultrasound-Guided Block, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score.