Bupivacaine Local Infiltration at Trocar Insertion Sites after Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective: To compare local infiltration of bupivacaine with placebo for reducing pain at trocar insertion sites after gynecologic laparoscopic surgery (GLS). Materials and Methods: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted on women who underwent GLS at Buddhachinaraj Phitsanulok Hospital, Thailand between September 2021 and March 2022. Eighty subjects were included for this trial. Bupivacaine 0.5% 10-mL was infiltrated at each port site after removing the trocars compared with placebo. Pain intensity was evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS) for four pain points including abdominal parietal pain (APP), abdominal visceral pain (AVP), and right and left shoulder pain at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Results: There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups except for parity. APP and AVP had no significant difference in postoperative pain (mean difference –0.23, 95% CI –0.58 to 0.10, p=0.169 and –0.35, 95% CI -0.72 to 0.02, p=0.063, respectively). Only mild pain, with a VAS of 0 to 2, on both sides of shoulder were found in most participants, which had no significant difference between the two groups. Opioid consumption and adverse events were also not a significant difference. Multivariate analysis showed the APP had no significant difference between the two groups after adjusting confounding factors. However, gynecologic cancer and increased age were the significant factors associated with postoperative pain (mean difference 0.60, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.08, p=0.014 and –0.02, 95% CI –0.04 to –0.01, p=0.010, respectively). Conclusion: Locally infiltrated bupivacaine at trocar insertion sites after GLS did not significantly improve postoperative analgesia. Keywords: Gynecologic laparoscopic surgery; Postoperative analgesia; Bupivacaine