Efficacy of Modified Perichondral Approach Thoracoabdominal Nerve Block For Post Cesarean Section

Cesarean section (CS) is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the World, in European countries, approximately 20% of deliveries are CS. Moderate to severe postoperative pain occurs in a significant proportion of women after cesarean surgery. This delays recovery and returning to daily life. Postoperative pain disrupts the mother-child bond, makes breastfeeding difficult, and affects the psychological state of the mother. Also inadequate postoperative analgesia may cause hyperalgesia and chronic pain.

Perioperative pain should be managed with a multi-modal approach. Opioids and nonsteroid anti inflammatory drugs should be considered as components of a multimodal analgesic regimen. However, use of both systemic and neuraxial opioids may be associated with effects (respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, sedation, pruritus, hyperalgesia). For this, interfacial blocks may be preffered to provide postoperative analgesia and reduced opioid consumption.

Modified Perichondral Approach Thoracoabdominal Nerve (M-TAPA) block performed with ultrasound (US) is a novel technique that provides effective analgesia in the anterior and lateral thoracoabdominal areas, where local anesthetic is applied only to the lower side of the perichondral surface. M-TAPA block is a good alternative for analgesia of the upper dermatome levels and the abdominal lateral Wall, provides analgesia in the abdominal area at the T5-T11 level. Sonoanatomy is easy to visualize and the spread of local anesthetic can be easily seen under US guidance.

In the literature, there are studies investigating the effectiveness of M-TAPA block for post-operative pain management in bariatric surgery. However, there is no randomized study evaluating the effectiveness of M-TAPA block for postoperative analgesia management after CS. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of US-guided M-TAPA block for postoperative analgesia management after cesarean section. The primary outcome is to compare global recovery scores, the secondary outcome is to compare postoperative pain scores (NRS), to evaluate postoperative rescue analgesic (opioid) use and side effects (allergic reaction, nausea, vomiting) associated with opioid use in this study.