A COMPARATIVE STUDY TO EVALUATE PRE-INCISION ULTRASOUNDGUIDED ILIOINGUINAL ILIOHYPOGASTRIC NERVE BLOCK VERSUS PRE- INCISION INCISIONAL SITE INFILTRATION FOR POST-OPERATIVE ANALGESIA IN CHILDREN UNDERGOING UNILATERAL INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR UNDER GENERAL AN

Abstract

Pain management is an important aspect of perioperative paediatric anaesthesia care and is also a significant contributor to patient/parent satisfaction. Paediatric regional anaesthesia delivers improved analgesia as equated to diverse systemic analgesic treatment both intra- operatively and postoperatively. Ropivacaine is a potent anaesthetic. This study was planned to compare the efficacy of ultrasound-guided ilioinguinal iliohypogastric nerve block and pre- incisional site infiltration for post-operative analgesia in children undergoing unilateral inguinal hernia repair under general anaesthesia.  Methodology: This is a prospective experimental randomized controlled study. All patients posted for elective unilateral hernia repair was included based on following inclusion criteria like age between 2 to 7 years. Group B: Pre incisional USG guided ilioinguinaliliohypogartric nerve block group with 30 participants. Group I: Pre incisional incision site infiltration group with 30 participants. Discussion: The current study reiterates the significance and superiority of using USG guided ilioinguinal iliohypogastric nerve block with ropivacaine in providing better post-operative analgesia, reducing the need for additional analgesia and without any complications in comparison to infiltration anaesthesia for inguinal surgery in children. The finding of this study also as certains the potential of using USG guidance for other nerve blocks in paediatric regional anaesthesia. Conclusion: we conclude that Ultrasound guided ilioinguinal iliohypogastric nerve block with 0.2% ropivacaine is a better alternative to incisional site infiltration anaesthesia as it provides a better quality post-operative analgesia for longer duration thereby reducing the need for additional analgesia and without any significant hemodynamic alterations and complications for elective unilateral hernia repair among children aged 2 to 7 years.