POSTOPERATIVE PAIN SCORE USING INTRAPERITONEAL LOCAL ANESTHETIC BUPIVACAINE VERSUS PLACEBO AFTER LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

Background: Intraperitoneal injection of bupivacaine has been used for treatment of pain following laparoscopic surgeries. The objective of this study was to compare the pain score using intraperitoneal local anesthetic bupivacaine versus placebo after laparoscopic cholecystectomy at 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours respectively.Materials & Methods: This randomized control trial was conducted in Department of General Surgery, Indus Hospital Karachi, Pakistan from July 2020 to January 2021. All adult patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were eligible. Sixty patients were randomly allocated to experimental (bupivacaine=30) and placebo (normal saline=30) groups. At the end of surgery, 20 ml bupivacaine 0.5% in experimental group and 20 ml normal saline in placebo group were administered in gall bladder fossa. Postoperative pain was measured by 11-points Visual Analogue Scale at 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours as five research variables. All hypotheses were verified by independent samples t-test.Results: Experimental group included 5 (16.67%) men and 25 women (83.33%). Placebo group included 3 (10%) men and 27 women (90%). Each group included 14 (46.67%) patients in age group 19-40 and 16 (53.33%) in age group 41-65 years. Mean pain score was similar in experimental and placebo groups at 1 hour (3.63 vs. 3.87), 6 hours (3.87 vs. 4.10), 12 hours (3.53 vs. 3.37), 18 hours (2.50 vs. 2.77) and 24 hours (1.80 vs. 2.00) respectively.Conclusion: Mean postoperative pain scores using intraperitoneal local anesthetic bupivacaine versus placebo after laparoscopic cholecystectomy at 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours respectively were similar.