Assessment of ultrasound-guided abdominal wall nerve block for postoperative pain control and optimization of opioid utilization in patients undergoing abdominal surgery
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Affiliated Jinhua Hospital of Zhejiang University (Jinhua, Zhejiang, China) to evaluate the effects of ultrasound-assisted abdominal wall nerve block on postoperative pain and opioid use in abdominal surgery patients. A total of 104 patients were included, with 51 receiving traditional blind nerve block and 53 receiving ultrasound-guided nerve block. The results showed that the ultrasound-guided group had significantly lower pain scores at 6, 12 and 24 hours, as well as reduced opioid consumption within the first 24 hours. Additionally, patients in the ultrasound-guided group reported higher satisfaction on postoperative days 1 (9.05±1.21 vs. 8.22±1.34, P=0.001), 3 (9.97±1.32 vs. 9.11±1.45, P=0.002) and 7 (9.92±1.09 vs. 9.25±1.21, P=0.004). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 25.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), with t-tests for continuous variables and Chi-square tests for categorical variables. A corrected chi-square test was applied when 1≤T<5 and Fisher's exact test was used for small sample sizes. Results with P-values below 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Our findings suggest that ultrasound-guided nerve block is effective in reducing postoperative pain, opioid use and enhancing patient satisfaction.
Authors: Jiaqun Zhu, Dong Zhao, Liping Shu, Yuanliang Chen, Huayan Lv
Institution: Zhejiang University
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409241882