Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide. Despite being classified as a minor surgical intervention, moderate to severe postoperative pain is reported in approximately 60% of patients. In a subset of these patients, acute postoperative pain may persist and evolve into chronic post-surgical inguinal pain, significantly affecting quality of life.
In recent years, beyond the use of systemic intravenous analgesics, ultrasound-guided fascial plane blocks have been increasingly incorporated into multimodal analgesia protocols with the aim of reducing postoperative opioid consumption and improving pain control. However, the current literature does not provide definitive evidence regarding the superiority of one block technique over another in this surgical population.
The primary objective of the present study is to compare the analgesic efficacy of the Quadro-iliac Plane Block (QIPB) and the transversus abdominis plane block (TAPB) in patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair.
Patients aged between 18 and 65 years
Patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification of I-III.
Patients with a body mass index (BMI) between 18 and 30 kg/m².
Patients scheduled to undergo unilateral inguinal hernia repair under general anesthesia in the operating room.
Patients younger than 18 years or older than 65 years.
Patients with an ASA physical status classification of IV or higher.
Patients with advanced comorbidities.
Patients with a history of bleeding diathesis.
Parallel
TAPB
Procedure/SurgeryPatients will undergo TAPB procedure using 30 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine under ultrasound guidance.
QIPB
Procedure/SurgeryPatients will undergo QIPB procedure using 30 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine under ultrasound guidance.
Pain Score
Pain will be assessed using a visual analog scale from 0 mm (no pain) to 100 mm (worst pain) at rest and when coughing. Pain assessment will be made at 0, 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours after surgery.
Patient Satisfaction
Quality of recovery-15 (QoR-15) score was used as the satisfaction score. The patient-reported Turkish QoR-15 score includes 15 questions that evaluate the patient's postoperative recovery. The QoR-15 score is grouped under two groups, A and B. A high QoR-15 score, a score between 0 (poor) and 10 (excellent) for each item, and a total score of 150 indicate better quality of recovery.
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