Effects of Nerve Blocks on Pain After Caesarean Section and Postpartum Depression

Launched by KAHRAMANMARAS SUTCU IMAM UNIVERSITY · Jan 15, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study is testing two different nerve-block techniques used during cesarean delivery to see which one better helps with pain after surgery and whether they have any effect on postpartum mood. Participants are randomly assigned to Group E (erector spinae plane block) or Group T (transversus abdominis plane block). After the cesarean, everyone also receives standard pain medicine through a patient-controlled device for the first 24 hours. The main things researchers will look at are how well each method reduces pain (measured on a standard pain scale) and, a year after delivery, how many people show signs of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Depression Scale. Participants will also answer a short 10-question survey in the weeks after surgery.

Who can join: adult women 18 or older who are having a planned cesarean after a full-term pregnancy (about 36 weeks or more), and who are generally healthy enough for anesthesia (ASA II-III). They must be able to have a spinal anesthesia and not have labor at term or any obstetric emergencies. Exclusions include twin pregnancies, existing psychiatric disorders or medications, allergies to local anesthetics, nerve or muscle conditions, or taking blood thinners that would prevent the nerve blocks. The study is taking place at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University in Turkey and is currently enrolling by invitation. Results have not been published yet.

Gender

FEMALE

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Having a good mental status,
• • 2. Those aged ≥18 years,
• • 3. Term pregnant (gestational age ≥ 36 weeks),
• • 4. American Society of Anesthesiologists class II-III,
• • 5. Patients who underwent cesarean section with spinal anesthesia will be included.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Having labor at term or obstetric emergency,
• • 2. Having a twin pregnancy,
• • 3. Having a diagnosed psychiatric disorder/using psychiatric medication,
• • 4. Those who are allergic to local anesthetics and/or drugs used in the study,
• • 5. The patient-controlled anesthesia device is out of use for any reason within the first 24 hours postoperatively,
• • 6. Having peripheral neuropathy or neuromuscular disease,
• • 7. Patients using anticoagulant drugs that will prevent regional anesthesia will be excluded from the study.