Liposomal bupivacaine block no aid for cesarean pain

(HealthDay)—A liposomal bupivacaine incisional block at the time of cesarean delivery does not improve pain scores in the first 48 hours postoperatively, according to a study published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Malavika Prabhu, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues evaluated whether a liposomal bupivacaine incisional block decreases postoperative pain after cesarean delivery. Eighty women were randomized to either liposomal bupivacaine or placebo infiltrated into the fascia and skin at the surgical site, before fascial closure. One woman in the liposomal bupivacaine group was later excluded.

The researchers found that the median pain score with movement at 48 hours postoperatively was 4 (in an 11-point scale) in the liposomal bupivacaine group and 3.5 in the placebo group (P = 0.72). During the first 48 hours postoperatively, the median opioid use was the same (37.5 morphine milligram equivalents) in the two groups (P = 0.44).

"Compared with placebo, a liposomal bupivacaine incisional block at the time of cesarean delivery resulted in similar postoperative pain scores in the first 48 hours postoperatively," the authors write.