2025, Volume 18, Issue 4, pp 285 – 291

Regional anesthesia in colorectal laparoscopy: a retrospective comparison of quadratus lumborum and TAP blocks

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Issues

Special Issues

Authors and Affiliations

Corresponding author Mihaela Roxana Oliță, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania; Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. Email: mihaelaroxana1790@yahoo.com ; Andrei Andreșanu, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania; Department of Urology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania. E-mail: andrei.andresanu@gmail.com

Abstract

Effective postoperative pain control is pivotal in enhancing recovery following laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Regional anesthesia techniques such as the transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and the quadratus lumborum (QL) block have gained prominence as components of multimodal analgesia. However, their comparative efficacy remains underexplored. This retrospective observational cohort study analyzed data from 289 patients undergoing laparoscopic colon surgery. Patients were stratified into three groups: TAP block (Group A, n = 54), QL block (Group B, n = 62), and no regional block (Group C, n = 173). Primary endpoints included time to first analgesic administration and total analgesic consumption (opioids and non-opioids). Statistical analyses were conducted using R (v4.4.2) and Jamovi (v2.3), with significance set at P < 0.05. Group B (QL block) demonstrated significantly reduced opioid consumption (mean 13.16 ± 2.69 mg) compared to both Group A (16.80 ± 5.51 mg) and Group C (18.03 ± 4.29 mg), P < 0.001. Time to first analgesic request was longer in Group B (16.06 ± 2.53 h), indicating more durable analgesia. Non-opioid usage (paracetamol, tramadol, nefopam) was similarly lower in Group B across all comparisons (P < 0.001). Group B also exhibited a significantly shorter hospital stay (4.87 ± 1.14 days) relative to Groups A and C. The QL block was associated with superior postoperative analgesia, reduced opioid and adjunct analgesic requirements, prolonged pain-free intervals, and accelerated postoperative recovery in laparoscopic colorectal surgery. These findings underscore QL block as a potent element of opioid-sparing, multimodal analgesic strategies and support its broader adoption in enhanced recovery protocols.

Keywords

About this article

PMC ID: 12094314
PubMed ID: 
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2025-0067

Article Publishing Date (print): 4 2025
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Issues

Special Issues