The Efficacy and Safety of Liposomal Bupivacaine for Transversus Abdominis Plane Block in Relieving Postoperative Pain After Laparoscopic Surgery

March 14, 2026 updated by: Fang Luo, Beijing Tiantan Hospital

The Efficacy and Safety of Liposomal Bupivacaine Plus Bupivacaine Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Postoperative Pain in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Surgery:A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial

Laparoscopic surgery has become the preferred approach for abdominal surgical interventions due to its advantages of minimal invasiveness, rapid recovery, and reduced complication rates. Despite its minimally invasive nature, postoperative pain persists and adversely affects patient recovery. In the absence of effective pain management, acute pain may progress to chronic pain. Although opioids provide reliable analgesic effects, their associated adverse reactions limit their application following minimally invasive procedures. Regional analgesia serves as the cornerstone of multimodal analgesia, and ultrasound-guided nerve block techniques have become increasingly refined. Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block(TAPB) generally fulfills intraoperative and postoperative analgesic requirements for laparoscopic surgeries by inhibiting the transmission of nociceptive stimuli in the targeted region, thereby aiding in the prevention of central sensitization. Conventional TAPB utilize local anesthetics, which demonstrate excellent efficacy in alleviating incisional pain. However, the short duration of analgesia provided by conventional local anesthetics significantly compromises their clinical utility.Liposomal bupivacaine(LB) is a novel, long-acting, sustained-release amide-type local anesthetic, providing localized analgesic effects for up to 72 hours.However, its efficacy and safety in laparoscopic surgery not yet been fully validated. Based on this premise, the present study aims to evaluate and compare the clinical outcomes of Ultrasound-guided TAPB utilizing liposomal bupivacaine plus bupivacaine for postoperative pain management in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

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Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

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Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
318

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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Study Contact

Study Contact

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Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100070
        • Recruiting
        • Beijing Tiantan Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hernia repair, and appendectomy under general anesthesia;
  2. Ages 18 to 64 years old；
  3. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status of I-III；
  4. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 15；
  5. Patients must be able to understand the nature and potential personal consequences of the clinical trial, signing of the informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. History of chronic pain syndrome of any cause.
  2. Patients with heart conduction block (sinus block or atrioventricular block).
  3. Patients with unstable coronary artery disease.
  4. Patients with gastric ulcer or gastric bleeding.
  5. Patients with diabetes and are being treated with insulin.
  6. Subjects with coagulation dysfunction (prothrombin time or activated partial thromboplastin time is higher than the normal threshold) or patients who are taking oral anticoagulants for other medical reasons and have not stopped it before surgery, such as warfarin or new anticoagulants rivaroxaban or dabigatran.
  7. Patients with abnormal liver function: alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and/or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) > 2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) or total bilirubin (TBIL) ≥ 1.5×ULN.
  8. Patients with renal impairment (serum creatinine > 176 µmol/L) or receiving dialysis treatment within 28 days before surgery.
  9. Patients with a history of diagnosed mental illness or currently taking psychotropic medication.
  10. Excessive alcohol or drug abuse, chronic opioid use (more than 2 weeks or 3 days per week for more than 1 month), use of drugs with confirmed or suspected sedative or analgesic effects, or use of any painkiller within 24 h before surgery.
  11. Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  12. Extreme body mass index (BMI) (< 15 or > 35).
  13. Participation in another interventional trial that interferes with the intervention or outcome of this trial.
  14. Patients with a history of allergy to local anaesthetics or one of the study drugs.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Bupivacaine hydrochloride
Drug: Bupivacaine hydrochloride
Prior to surgical incision, the Doppler ultrasound-guided injection technique will be employed. A bilateral transverse abdominis plane block(TAPB) will be performed using a 22-gauge block needle, with 20 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine administered per side. The patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump solution consists of 100 μg sufentanil and 16 mg ondansetron diluted with normal saline to a total volume of 100 mL. Postoperatively, patients may self-administer a 2-mL bolus per demand, with a lockout interval of 10 minutes. Should analgesia remain inadequate after four consecutive boluses, one tablet of oxycodone-acetaminophen(containing 5 mg oxycodone hydrochloride and 325 mg acetaminophen) may be administered orally, with a minimum repeat dosing interval of 6 hours. For persistent pain, intravenous morphine 5 mg may be administered at intervals no shorter than 4 hours.
Experimental: Liposomal bupivacaine plus bupivacaine
Drug: Liposomal bupivacaine plus bupivacaine
Prior to surgical incision, the Doppler ultrasound-guided injection technique will be employed. A bilateral transverse abdominis plane block(TAPB) will be performed using a 22-gauge block needle, 20 mL (266 mg) of liposomal bupivacaine will be mixed with 20 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine hydrochloride (50 mg, diluted in normal saline) to prepare a 40 mL solution. A volume of 20 mL will be administered to each side.The patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump solution consists of 100 μg sufentanil and 16 mg ondansetron diluted with normal saline to a total volume of 100 mL. Postoperatively, patients may self-administer a 2-mL bolus per demand, with a lockout interval of 10 minutes. Should analgesia remain inadequate after four consecutive boluses, one tablet of oxycodone-acetaminophen may be administered orally, with a minimum repeat dosing interval of 6 hours. For persistent pain, intravenous morphine 5 mg may be administered at intervals no shorter than 4 hours.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Intravenous Morphine Equivalents of Rescue Analgesic Medications Within 48 Hours Postoperatively
Time Frame: The postoperative period 48 hours.
The postoperative period 48 hours.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Area Under the Curve (AUC) of Numeric Rating Scale at rest (NRSr) Within 0-72 Hours Postoperatively
Time Frame: Data will be collected at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours postoperatively.
The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) designates 0 as representing no pain and 10 as representing the most severe pain; scores of 1-3 indicate mild pain, 4-6 denote moderate pain, and 7-10 signify severe pain.
Data will be collected at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours postoperatively.
Numeric Rating Scale at rest (NRSr) at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively
Time Frame: Postoperative day 7, month 1, and month 3.
The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) designates 0 as representing no pain and 10 as representing the most severe pain; scores of 1-3 indicate mild pain, 4-6 denote moderate pain, and 7-10 signify severe pain.
Postoperative day 7, month 1, and month 3.
Time to request of first analgesia
Time Frame: Within 48 hours postoperatively.
Within 48 hours postoperatively.
Cumulative sufentanil dose for four separate periods (0-4, 4-8, 8-24, and 24-48 h), a total press count including both valid and invalid presses
Time Frame: Postoperative Hours 4, 8, 24, and 48.
Postoperative Hours 4, 8, 24, and 48.
Duration days of Oral Oxycodone and Acetaminophen Tablets Administration
Time Frame: Within 3 months postoperatively.
Within 3 months postoperatively.
Ramsay Sedation Scale，RSS
Time Frame: Postoperative at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours.
The RSS utilizes a six-point scale to evaluate sedation levels. The total score ranges from 1 to 6 as follows: anxious or agitated (1 point); oriented, calm, and cooperative (2 points); responsive to commands (3 points); drowsy with brisk response to glabellar tap or loud auditory stimulus (4 points); drowsy with sluggish response to glabellar tap or loud auditory stimulus (5 points)；and drowsy with no response whatsoever（6）points. A score of 1 reflects inadequate sedation, scores of 2 to 4 indicate satisfactory sedation, while scores of 5 to 6 denote oversedation.
Postoperative at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours.
Quality of Recovery-40，QoR-40
Time Frame: Postoperative hours 24, 48, and 72.
The Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) serves as a globally recognized metric for evaluating the quality of recovery. It encompasses five dimensions-emotional state, physical comfort, physiological independence, psychological support, and pain-comprising a total of 40 items, each rated on a 1-5 scoring scale. The overall QoR-40 score ranges from 40 (indicating extremely poor recovery quality) to 200 (representing excellent recovery quality).
Postoperative hours 24, 48, and 72.
Length of Stay (LOS)
Time Frame: Perioperation.
Perioperation.
Total hospitalization expenses incurred during the patient's inpatient stay
Time Frame: Perioperation.
Perioperation.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting，PONV
Time Frame: Postoperatively within 72 hours.
Postoperatively within 72 hours.
Adverse events，AEs
Time Frame: Within 72 hours postoperatively.
Systemic Toxicity of Local Anesthetics (LAST), localized hematoma, pruritus, hypotension, arrhythmia, delirium, etl.
Within 72 hours postoperatively.
Area under the curve (AUC) of the Numerical Rating Scale during movement (NRSm) within 0-72 hours postoperatively
Time Frame: Data will be collected at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours postoperatively.
The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) designates 0 as representing no pain and 10 as representing the most severe pain; scores of 1-3 indicate mild pain, 4-6 denote moderate pain, and 7-10 signify severe pain.
Data will be collected at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours postoperatively.
Numeric Rating Scale during movement (NRSm) at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively
Time Frame: Postoperative day 7, month 1, and month 3.
The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) designates 0 as representing no pain and 10 as representing the most severe pain; scores of 1-3 indicate mild pain, 4-6 denote moderate pain, and 7-10 signify severe pain.
Postoperative day 7, month 1, and month 3.
Total dosage of orally oxycodone and acetaminophen tablets
Time Frame: Within 3 months postoperatively.
Within 3 months postoperatively.
Patient Satisfaction Scale，PSS
Time Frame: Postoperative hours 2, 24, 48, and 72; week 1; month 1; and month 3.
Patient Satisfaction Scale(PSS) on a scale ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 denotes "completely dissatisfied" and 10 signifies "extremely satisfied."
Postoperative hours 2, 24, 48, and 72; week 1; month 1; and month 3.
The duration of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit（PACU）
Time Frame: The time from the end of surgery until transferred back to the ward.Typically, patients are transferred back to the ward after approximately 30 to 60 minute.
The time from the end of surgery until the patient regains consciousness and has stable vital signs after extubating and is subsequently transferred back to the ward.
The time from the end of surgery until transferred back to the ward.Typically, patients are transferred back to the ward after approximately 30 to 60 minute.
Intraoperative Anesthetic Dosage
Time Frame: During the surgical anesthesia phase.
During the surgical anesthesia phase.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Beijing Tiantan Hospital

Publications and helpful links

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General Publications

Study record dates

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Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 14, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • KY2025-289-02-5

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article, after de-identification (text, tables, figures and appendices) are available. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author Fang Luo on request.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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