The Efficacy and Safety of Liposomal Bupivacaine for Rhomboid Intercostal Nerve Block in Relieving Postoperative Pain After Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Summary

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is less invasive compared to traditional thoracotomy. It is reported that the incidence of acute pain following VATS exceeds 80%. Inadequate postoperative analgesia may trigger a series of adverse physiological stress responses, increase the occurrence of postoperative complications, and affect the rehabilitation process.If acute pain is not managed promptly and sufficiently, nearly one-quarter of patients may develop chronic pain, impacting normal life and sleep quality after discharge.In recent years, multimodal postoperative analgesia protocols have been increasingly adopted in clinical practice. The Rhomboid intercostal block (RIB), as a novel regional anesthesia technique within the multimodal analgesia framework, has been widely utilized in various thoracic surgical procedures. Liposomal bupivacaine, an innovative long-acting sustained-release amide local anesthetic, provides prolonged analgesia for up to 72 hours. However, its efficacy and safety in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) have not yet been fully validated. Based on this premise, the present study aims to evaluate and compare the clinical outcomes of ultrasound-guided Rhomboid intercostal block (RIB) utilizing liposomal bupivacaine combined with conventional bupivacaine for postoperative pain management in patients undergoing VATS.

Timeline

Start

2026-03-02

Primary completion

2027-03-30

Completion

2027-06-30

Publications

• Background Ciftci B, Alver S, Gungor H, Golboyu BE, Subasi M, Omur B, Gul YG, Ekinci M. The efficacy of rhomboid intercostal block for pain management after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a prospective, randomized-controlled trial. Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2024 Dec;72(12):779-785. doi: 10.1007/s11748-024-02036-8. Epub 2024 Apr 26.
• Background Wang X, Jia X, Li Z, Zhou Q. Rhomboid intercostal block or thoracic paravertebral block for postoperative recovery quality after video-assisted thoracic surgery: A prospective, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2023 Sep 1;40(9):652-659. doi: 10.1097/EJA.0000000000001872. Epub 2023 Jun 28.
• Background Chen R, Su S, Shu H. Efficacy and safety of rhomboid intercostal block for analgesia in breast surgery and thoracoscopic surgery: a meta-analysis. BMC Anesthesiol. 2022 Mar 16;22(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s12871-022-01599-4.
• Background Zhang JG, Jiang CW, Deng W, Liu F, Wu XP. Comparison of Rhomboid Intercostal Block, Erector Spinae Plane Block, and Serratus Plane Block on Analgesia for Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial. Int J Clin Pract. 2022 Jun 23;2022:6924489. doi: 10.1155/2022/6924489. eCollection 2022.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.