An interventional study of Ultrasound-guided subcostal TAP block combined with rectus sheath block in Postoperative Pain and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, sponsored by Eulji University Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in South Korea. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-27.
Sponsored by Eulji University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This prospective randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate whether the timing of ultrasound-guided subcostal transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block combined with rectus sheath block (RSB) affects postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Participants will be randomly assigned to receive the combined regional blocks either before surgical incision or after completion of surgery. The primary outcome is postoperative pain intensity measured using a numerical rating scale. Secondary outcomes include opioid consumption, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and other recovery parameters.
The results of this study may help optimize the timing of abdominal wall blocks to improve postoperative analgesia and recovery following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains a significant clinical concern despite the minimally invasive nature of the procedure. Ultrasound-guided abdominal wall blocks, including subcostal transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and rectus sheath block (RSB), are widely used to reduce postoperative pain and opioid requirements. However, the optimal timing of block administration relative to surgical incision remains unclear.
This prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial will compare the analgesic efficacy of pre-incisional versus post-operative administration of combined ultrasound-guided subcostal TAP block and RSB in adult patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia.
Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio using block randomization with randomly permuted block sizes. Standardized general anesthesia and postoperative analgesia protocols will be applied to all participants.
The primary outcome will be postoperative pain intensity measured using a numerical rating scale at predefined time points after surgery. Secondary outcomes will include cumulative opioid consumption, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, rescue analgesic requirements, and recovery profiles.
The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence for optimizing the timing of abdominal wall block administration to improve postoperative analgesia and patient recovery after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
5,640 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Postoperative; 1,230 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 96 is above the median of 75 across 4,821 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Postoperative.
Browse Pain, Postoperative studies →Eulji University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 10 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ASA physical status
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants receive ultrasound-guided subcostal transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block combined with rectus sheath block (RSB) after induction of general anesthesia and before surgical incision.
Procedure: Ultrasound-guided subcostal TAP block combined with rectus sheath block
Participants receive ultrasound-guided subcostal transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block combined with rectus sheath block (RSB) after completion of surgery and before emergence from anesthesia.
Procedure: Ultrasound-guided subcostal TAP block combined with rectus sheath block
Ultrasound-guided right subcostal transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block combined with bilateral rectus sheath block (RSB) is performed under sterile conditions using local anesthetic for postoperative analgesia.
Maximum postoperative pain intensity within 24 hours
The highest postoperative pain intensity measured using an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS; 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain imaginable) during the first 24 hours after surgery, assessed at 1, 6, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively.
Time frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Maximum postoperative pain intensity during post-anesthesia care unit stay
The highest postoperative pain intensity measured using an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS; 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain imaginable) during the recovery period.
Time frame: During the post-anesthesia care unit stay
Cumulative rescue opioid consumption within 24 hours
Total amount of rescue opioid administered between 1 and 24 hours after surgery.
Time frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting
Occurrence of nausea or vomiting during the postoperative period.
Time frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Feb 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2027, 10 months after the start.
Of 2,089 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Pain, Postoperative, half reached primary completion within 11 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 23. This study's planned 10 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 2,102 studies reached it within 11 months; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 23.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Eulji University Hospital