Comparison of postoperative analgesic effects of two doses of dexamethasone in ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block for inguinal hernia repair: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Abstract Background Ninety patients American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I–II, aged (18–60 years), were enrolled in this randomized controlled trial. All enrolled patients had undergone elective primary unilateral open inguinal hernia repair under spinal anesthesia; at the end of the surgery, transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block was done by bupivacaine combined with 4 mg dexamethasone in (group I), 8 mg dexamethasone in (group II), or saline in (group III.). We aimed to compare the analgesic efficacy of two different doses of dexamethasone (4 mg and 8 mg) added to bupivacaine in a unilateral single-injection (TAP) block. The first outcome measure was the time of the first analgesic request, and the secondary outcome measure was the VAS scale in the first postoperative 24 h. Results There was no need for any analgesia in group I and group II in the first postoperative 24 h. The time of the first analgesic request in group III was 720 ± 90 min. VAS scores were significantly lower in group I and group II than in group III, with no significant difference between group I and group II. Conclusions There is no difference in the first postoperative 24 h analgesic effect of the two doses of dexamethasone when added to a long-acting local anesthetic mixture in TAP blocks in patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03863977