Comparison of Post Operative Analgesic Efficacy of Dexamethasone as an Adjuvant with Ropivacaine 0.25% and Plain Ropivacaine 0.25%, Using Ultrasound Guided Tap Block after Total Abdominal Hysterectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Following abdominal surgery, transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block, a peripheral nerve block, can be a useful supplement to multimodal postoperative analgesia. The aim was assessment of postoperative analgesic effectiveness of 0.25% ropivacaine with 4 mg of dexamethasone on each side and 0.25% ropivacaine alone in the management of postoperative pain following total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH). Materials and Methods: Sixty adult patients planned for elective TAH with ASA Grades I–II under general anesthesia participated in this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study. Patients of Group A were given 20 mL of 0.25% ropivacaine on both the sides and Group B patients were given 20 mL of 0.25% ropivacaine with dexamethasone 4 mg on each side. The primary objective of this study was a comparison of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores between the groups and comparison of mean time of first rescue analgesia. The secondary objectives of this study were a comparison of hemodynamic parameters, postoperative analgesic requirement, patient satisfaction, and incidence of side effects. Results: VAS shows no discernible variation in 1 and 4 h after administration of block in Groups A and B. However, a significant difference appeared in VAS 8 h (P = 0.007), VAS 12 h (P = 0.000), and VAS 24 h (P = 0.000) after the administration of block between Groups A and B. The median time for first rescue analgesia was 2.75 h (interquartile range [IQR] = 1 h) and 5.8 h (IQR = 1.6 h) in Groups A and B, respectively, which was highly significant. Conclusion: We concluded that, after abdominal hysterectomy, dexamethasone added to ropivacaine TAP block tends to prolong postoperative analgesia and decrease the need for analgesics.