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CompletedNCT06178757Updated Jul 30, 2024

TAP Block vs External Oblique Plane Block for Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Surgery

An interventional study of TAPB and EOIB in Cholecystitis, Cholecystitis, Acute and Cholecystitis, Chronic, sponsored by Medipol University. Completed at 1 site in Turkey. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-07-30.

Sponsored by Medipol University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Ultrasound (US) guidedTransversus Abdominis Plane Block (TAPB) is performed by injecting a local anesthetic into the plane between the internal oblique and transverse abdominis muscles and provides analgesia in the anterolateral walls of the abdomen after abdominal surgery. Ultrasound-guided TAPB has been commonly used for many years.

US-guided External oblique intercostal block (EOIB) is a novel block performed by injection of local anesthetic between the external and internal oblique muscles at the level of 6th-8th ribs. This block provides abdominal analgesia between T6 and T10 levels. There are studies in the literature showing that it provides effective analgesia. However, there is no study comparing TAPB and EOIB yet.

In this study, we aim to compare the effectiveness of US-guided TAPB and EOIB for postoperative analgesia management after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. Our primary aim is to compare patient recovery scores (QoR15 Turkish version), our secondary aim is to compare postoperative pain scores (24-hour NRS), postoperative rescue analgesic use (opioid/meperidine), and opioid-related side effects (allergic reaction, nausea, vomiting).

Read the detailed description

Cholecystectomy is the most common abdominal surgery performed in developed countries and is usually performed laparoscopically. The etiology of pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy is multifactorial and is generally considered visceral pain. Diaphragmatic nerve irritation due to CO2 insufflation into the peritoneal cavity, abdominal distension, tissue damage, damage due to dissection of the gallbladder, sociocultural situation, and individual factors play a role in the occurrence of this pain..

Postoperative pain is an acute pain that is accompanied by inflammation caused by surgical stress and decreases over time with tissue healing. Pain in the postoperative period in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery is a serious problem that reduces patient comfort and delays the patient's return to work after surgery (4). Successful postoperative analgesia management prevents many of the complications such as respiratory problems and delayed mobilization (5).

Transverse Abdominis Plane Block (TAPB), performed under ultrasound (US) guidance, is a block that is performed by injecting a local anesthetic into the plane between the internal oblique and transverse abdominis muscles and provides analgesia in the anterolateral walls of the abdomen after surgery. Ultrasound-guided TAPB is commonly used.

TAPB provides analgesia in the abdominal region in T6-L1 dermatomes. Sonoanatomy is easy to visualize on US and the spread of local anesthetic can be seen. Analgesia occurs in several dermatomes with the cephalo-caudal spread of the local anesthetic solution. Studies are proving that TAP block is effective in some abdominal surgeries such as hysterectomy, cesarean section, cholecystectomy, inguinal hernia and prostatectomy. Sensory block areas formed by TAPB are highly variable and may result in insufficient blocks.

External oblique block (EOIB) performed under US guidance is a block performed by injection of local anesthetic between the external and internal oblique muscles. This block provides abdominal analgesia covering the T6-T10 dermatomes. There are studies in the literature proving that it provides effective analgesia (12-14). However, no study comparing TAPB and EOIP has been published yet.

In this study, we aim to compare the effectiveness of US-guided TAPB and EOIB for postoperative analgesia management after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. Our primary aim is to compare patient recovery scores (QoR15 Turkish version), our secondary aim is to compare postoperative pain scores (24-hour NRS), postoperative rescue analgesic use (opioid/meperidine), and opioid-related side effects (allergic reaction, nausea, vomiting).

02

Conditions studied

  • Cholecystitis
  • Cholecystitis, Acute
  • Cholecystitis, Chronic

Keywords

  • Laparoscopic Cholesistectomy
  • Postoperative pain management
  • External oblique intercostal block
  • Transversus abdominis plane block
03

In context

Cholecystitis

266 studies on the registry are indexed under Cholecystitis; 46 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 60 is below the median of 86 across 167 interventional studies indexed under Cholecystitis.

Browse Cholecystitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Medipol University is the lead sponsor of 311 studies on the registry; 86 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification I-II
  • Scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery under general anesthesia

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Bleeding diathesis
  • anticoagulant treatment
  • local anesthetics and opioid allergy
  • Infection at the site of the block
  • Patients who do not accept the procedure
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
60 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Group TAPB = Transversus abdominis plane block group

    Patients will be administered ibuprofen 400 mgr IV every 8 hours in the postoperative period. Postoperative patient evaluation will be performed by a pain nurse blinded to the procedure. 0,5 mg/kg meperidin will be performed for rescue analgesia

    Drug: TAPB

  • Active comparator
    Group EOIB = External oblique intercostal plane block group

    Patients will be administered ibuprofen 400 mgr IV every 8 hours in the postoperative period. Postoperative patient evaluation will be performed by a pain nurse blinded to the procedure. 0,5 mg/kg meperidin will be performed for rescue analgesia

    Drug: EOIB

Interventions

  • DrugTAPB

    As soon as the surgical procedure is completed, TAPB will be applied before extubation. After aseptic conditions are ensured, the high-frequency linear US probe (11-12 MHz, Vivid Q) will be covered with a sterile sheath, and an 80 mm block needle (Braun 360°) will be used. The US probe will be placed at the level of the anterior axillary line between the 12th rib and the iliac crest, and the external oblique abdominal muscle, internal oblique abdominal muscle, and transverse abdominis muscle will be visualized. Then, using the in-plane technique, the needle will be advanced with the help of ultrasound until the needle tip reaches the space between the internal oblique and transversus abdominis muscles. After negative pressure aspiration, 5ml saline will be injected and the block location will be confirmed. Once the block location is confirmed, 20ml 0.25% bupivacaine (40ml total for each side) will be injected bilaterally.

  • DrugEOIB

    As soon as the surgical procedure is completed, EOIB will be applied before extubation. After aseptic conditions are ensured, the high-frequency linear US probe (11-12 MHz, Vivid Q) will be covered with a sterile sheath in the supine position, and an 80 mm block needle (Braun 360°) will be used. The US probe will be placed on the 6th rib in the mid-axillary line, at the line between the anterior superior iliac spine and the umbilicus. Using the In-Plane technique, 5 ml of saline will be injected between, the external oblique muscle and the rib, and the block location will be confirmed. After confirming the block location, 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine will be applied to the plane between 6.,7., and 8. ribs and the muscles. The same procedure will be applied to the other side (a total of 40 ml 0.25% bupivacaine).

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Global recovery scoring system (patient satisfaction scale)

    We will use the Turkish version of Quality of Recovery / QoR-15 questionairre

    Time frame: Change from baseline score at postoperative 24 hour

Secondary outcomes

  1. Postoperative pain scores (Numerical rating scale) (0-meaning "no pain" to 10-meaning "worst pain imaginable")

    Change from Baseline Pain Scores at Postoperative 24 hours.

    Time frame: Postoperative 24 hours period

  2. The use of rescue analgesia

    Meperidine using (Number of Participants and Concentration of Meperidine)

    Time frame: Postoperative 24 hours period

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Istanbul Medipol University Hospital
    Istanbul, Bagcilar 34070, Turkey
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Elsharkawy H, Kolli S, Soliman LM, Seif J, Drake RL, Mariano ER, El-Boghdadly K. The External Oblique Intercostal Block: Anatomic Evaluation and Case Series. Pain Med. 2021 Nov 26;22(11):2436-2442. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnab296. PubMed 34626112 ↗
  • Hamilton DL, Manickam BP, Wilson MAJ, Abdel Meguid E. External oblique fascial plane block. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2019 Jan 11:rapm-2018-100256. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2018-100256. Online ahead of print. No abstract available. PubMed 30635518 ↗
  • Tulgar S, Ahiskalioglu A, Selvi O, Thomas DT, Ozer Z. Similarities between external oblique fascial plane block and blockage of thoracoabdominal nerves through perichondral approach (TAPA). J Clin Anesth. 2019 Nov;57:91-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2019.03.027. Epub 2019 Mar 29. No abstract available. PubMed 30933854 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 30, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06178757
Lead sponsor
Medipol University
Responsible party
Bahadir Ciftci (Principal Investigator, Medipol University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 21, 2023
Start date
Dec 20, 2023
Primary completion
Jul 22, 2024
Completion
Jul 25, 2024
Last update
Jul 30, 2024

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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