A placebo-controlled comparison of bupivacaine and ropivacaine instillation for preventing postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Purpose. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of local anesthetic instillation, to compare bupivacaine and ropivacaine in patients undergoing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods. A total of 80 patients were randomly assigned to four groups to receive the intraperitoneal instillation of 21ml of either 100mg bupivacaine (Group B), 100mg ropivacaine (Group R1), 150mg ropivacaine (Group R2) or saline with epinephrine 1/200000 at the end of the surgery. The postoperative pain was evaluated and the analgesic requirement was also assessed. Results. The intraperitoneal instillation of 100mg bupivacaine, 100mg ropivacaine, or 150mg ropivacaine at the end of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy significantly reduced the morphine consumption during the first 24h. For preventing postoperative pain 150mg ropivacaine proved to be significantly more effective than either 100mg bupivacaine or 100mg ropivacaine. Conclusion. We herein showed that the intraperitoneal instillation of local anesthetic during laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a noninvasive, rapid, safe and simple analgesic technique that reduces the total morphine consumption during first 24h.