Quadratus Lumborum Block versus Transversus Abdominis Plane Block in Patients Undergoing Total Abdominal Hysterectomy: A Randomized Prospective Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal hysterectomy is associated with sever postoperative pain. Quadratus lumborum (QL) block is a regional analgesic technique which has an evolving role in postoperative analgesia. AIMS: we aimed to compare ultrasound guided bilateral transverse abdominis plane (TAP) block versus bilateral QL block in patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a prospective randomized controlled double blinded study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty adult female patients (ASA I-II), scheduled for total abdominal hysterectomy were randomized into two equal groups (TAP group and QL group). Each patient received general anesthesia plus bilateral TAP block or bilateral QL block. We recorded postoperative total dose of morphine used / 24 hours, Visual Analuge Scales (VAS) for pain (at 30 min, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours postoperative), duration of postoperative analgesia, total dose of fentanyl use intraoperative, number of patients needed rescue analgesia and any side effects. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Independent sample T test and Chi-Square (X2) test were used as appropriate. RESULTS: Patients in QL group consumed significantly less fentanyl and morphine than patients in TAP group, VAS for pain was significant higher in TAP group than in QL group at all times, the duration of postoperative analgesia was shorter in TAP group than in QL group, the number of patients requested analgesia was significantly higher in TAP group than in QL group. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral QL block provided better intraoperative and postoperative analgesia with less opioids consumption compared with bilateral TAP block, in patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy.

Multilingual education of students on a global scale and perspective-international networking on the example of bioindication and biomonitoring (B&B technologies).

Living or formerly living organisms are being used to obtain information on the quality of the general health status of our environment by bioindication and biomonitoring methods for many decades. Thus, different roads toward this common scientific goal were developed by a lot of different international research groups. Global cooperation in between various scientific teams throughout the world has produced common ideas, scientific definitions, and highly innovative results of this extremely attractive working field. The transdisciplinary approach of different and multifaceted scientific areas-starting from biology, analytical chemistry, via health physics, up to social and economic issues-have surpassed mental barriers of individual scientists, so that "production" of straightforward common results related to the influence of material and immaterial environmental factors to the well-being of organisms and human life has now reached the forefront of international thinking. For the further sustainable development of our common scientific "hobby" of bioindication and biomonitoring, highest personal energy has to be given by us, being teachers to our students and to convince strategically decision makers as politicians to invest (financially) into the development of education and research of this innovative technique. Young people have to be intensively convinced on the "meaning" of our scientific doing, e.g., by extended forms of education. One example of multilingual education of students on a global scale and perspective is given here, which we started about 3 years ago.