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Abstract
Background and aims Caudal epidural anesthesia is a widely used popular technique for postoperative analgesia but it has potential side effects and it lasts a short time. QLB (Quadratus lumborum block) was found an effective method for postoperative analgesia in low abdominal surgeries. In this double-blind prospective randomized controlled trial, we aimed to compare the postoperative analgesic efficacies of QLB and the caudal block in pediatric patients undergoing low abdominal surgery under general anesthesia.
Methods After the approval was obtained the study was recorded in clinicaltrials.gov. (NCT03294291) 53 patients who underwent low abdominal surgery randomly divided into two groups as QLB and caudal block under general anesthesia. Demographic data, FLACC (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) scores at 30 min and 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24. hours, postoperative analgesic requirement, parent satisfaction scores and complications were recorded
Results The study included 52 patients, after excluding 1 patient who was not successful caudal block. There were no significant differences between the groups based on demographic data (p>0.05; table 1). the number of patients who required analgesia in the first 24 hours, and the postoperative 4-, 6-, and 12-hour FLACC scores were significantly lower in the QLB group (p<0.05; figures 1, 2). Parent satisfaction scores were higher in the QLB group (p<0.05). Nausea was seen only one patient in the caudal block group and the other postoperative complications were not observed in two groups.
Demographic and clinical data
Total analgesic consumption
Conclusions According to the results of this study quadratus lumborum block can provide much more effective analgesia than caudal block in multimodal analgesia management of children undergoing low abdominal surgery.