The influence of intraperitoneal bupivacaine on pain following major laparoscopic gynaecological procedures

Abstract

We present the results of a randomised, double-blind controlled trial to determine the effect of adding bupivacaine to intraperitoneal Hartmann's solution, used to reduce the incidence of postoperative adhesions, on postoperative pain and on analgesic consumption in patients presenting for major laparoscopic gynaecological procedures. Fifty-six women were studied and postoperative analgesic requirements and visual analogue scores were used to assess the pain experienced by the treatment group when compared with the control group. There was no statistical difference in the pain scores between the two groups at any time during the study period (Student's t-test; p = 0.29-0.74) nor was there any difference in analgesic consumption (Mann-Whitney U-test; p = 0.34-0.79).