Evaluation of postoperative analgesia in cesarean deliveries with tap block applied

The increasing prevalence of cesarean operations worldwide can result in moderate to severe postoperative pain. This situation can adversely affect recovery, the resumption of daily activities, the bond between mother and child, as well as the mother's psychological well-being. The contemporary approach to pain management following cesarean surgery is multimodal analgesia management. This strategy integrates the use of both opioids and non-opioid analgesics with regional techniques, aiming to minimize opioid consumption and mitigate related side effects. Among the commonly utilized regional block techniques for postoperative pain management after cesarean operations is the TAP block. In this study, the postoperative effectiveness of different TAP block techniques was compared in patients undergoing cesarean surgery. For this study, ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Fırat University Faculty of Medicine, dated 02.05.2024 with the approval number 2024/06-02. A total of 105 patients aged 18-45 years, who were ASA <4 and underwent elective cesarean surgery under general anesthesia with TAP block applied, were included in this study. Patients were divided into three groups: anterior, lateral, and posterior TAP block groups. Postoperative VAS scores, the time to first additional analgesic administration, total analgesic consumption, need for antiemetics, length of hospital stay, complications, and the duration of block administration by the anesthetist were recorded. No significant differences were found among the block groups regarding demographic data and preoperative characteristics. In the posterior TAP block group, VAS scores, total analgesic consumption, need for antiemetics, and length of hospital stay were significantly lower compared to the other groups; however, the time to first additional analgesic and antiemetic administration and the duration of block administration by the anesthetist were significantly longer. As a result, we believe that the posterior TAP block technique is more effective than other TAP block techniques in managing postoperative pain following cesarean surgery. Keywords: TAP, ceserean, postoperative pain