Ultrasound Guided Ilioinguinal/Iliohypogastric Nerve Block versus Transversus Abdominis Plane Block in Pain Management Following Unilateral Inguinal Hernia Repair

Abstract Background Poorly controlled acute pain after abdominal surgery is related to somatic pain signals derived from the abdominal wall and is associated with a variety of unwanted post-operative consequences, including patient suffering, distress, respiratory complications, delirium, myocardial ischemia and prolonged hospital stay. Aim of the Work The aim of this study was to assess the postoperative analgesic efficacy of TAP block compared to IIN+IHN nerves block after unilateral inguinal hernia repair regarding the pain relief, effect on hemodynamics, requirement of first supplemental doses of analgesia and total number of doses received. Patients and Methods The study was conducted on 64 randomly chosen patients American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I or II scheduled for elective unilateral open inguinal hernia repair under general anesthesia in Ain Shams University Hospitals after approval of the medical ethical committee. They were allocated in two groups. Results The study revealed that patients received IIN+IHN block had significantly lower pain scores after operation, delayed time for rescue analgesia and decreased total need of analgesic in the first 24hrs post- operative compared to patients who received TAP nerves block. Conclusion IIN+IHN block was effective in reducing postoperative pain scores, lowering total 24-h postoperative opioid and analgesic consumption and delaying the need for rescue analgesia after inguinal hernia repair under general anesthesia, compared to TAP nerves block.