Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Ultrasound-Guided Anterior Quadratus Lumborum Block at Lateral Supra-Arcuate Ligament vs Thoracic Epidural Analgesia after Open Liver Surgery: A Randomized, Controlled, Noninferiority Trial.
Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) has demonstrated great analgesic benefits in open liver surgery. However, the increased risk of postoperative coagulopathy after open liver surgery has promoted interest in alternate analgesic research. We aimed to explore whether ultrasound-guided anterior quadratus lumborum block at the lateral supra-arcuate ligament (LAL-QLB) with intravenous analgesia was noninferior to TEA under multimodal analgesia after open liver surgery. ⋯ LAL-QLB provided noninferior analgesia at 24 hours postoperatively. Despite regarding coagulopathy and delayed epidural removal, TEA was found to be better than LAL-QLB for pain management after open liver surgery. Epidural removal required close coagulation test.