ABSTRACT
In this prospective randomized study we compared the analgesic efficacy of the ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric nerves block and transversus abdominis plane block for analgesia after caesarean delivery performed by suprapubic laparotomy. The study includes 164 healthy women with ASA status I-II class, undergoing elective surgery under spinal anaesthesia. During the first postoperative hour patients in the "block's" groups received ultrasound-guided blocks of the anterior abdominal wall with ropivacaine 100 mg both. For the TAP-block we used 20 ml 0.25% solution, for the ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric block--10 ml 0.5% from each side. Patients were monitored for visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at rest and during movement (at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 hours after surgery), concentration of the cortisol and glucose were measured, and consumption of the tramadol and its adverse effects were controlled. We concluded that both blocks improve postoperative analgesia after caesarean delivery. The Ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric block showed greater efficacy than the transversus abdominis plane block.
