Comparison of Local Anesthetic Infiltration and Different Fascial Plane Blocks in Inguinal Hernia Repair

January 18, 2026 updated by: Gulay ERDOGAN KAYHAN, Eskisehir Osmangazi University

Comparison of the Effects of Local Anesthetic Infiltration and Different Fascial Plane Blocks on Postoperative Recovery Quality and Pain in Inguinal Hernia Repair

In this study, quadratus lumborum block (QLB), transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block, and local anesthetic infiltration will be performed preoperatively in patients who will undergo unilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy operation under general anesthesia. Quality of recovery (QoR-15) score, postoperative acute and chronic pain levels will be evaluated.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Inguinal hernia repair, one of the most common operations, causes moderate to severe postoperative pain. The postoperative pain delays patients' recovery and return to daily life, increases the rate of readmission to the hospital, and can lead to persistent postoperative pain.Procedure-specific postoperative pain management (PROSPECT) recommendations for optimal pain management have been recently updated. Accordingly, in addition to preoperative or intraoperative paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics, local anesthetic infiltration and/or regional analgesia techniques (ilio-inguinal nerve blocks or TAP block) with rescue opioids are recommended. Also, it has been reported that further research is needed on new regional techniques (other fascial plane blocks etc).It has been shown that QLB potentially results in extensive sensory blockade (T7-12), and in cadaver studies, the iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves are constantly involved. In addition, there are studies suggesting that it provides much longer analgesia than TAP block. There are few studies on its efficacy in inguinal hernia repair that are in pediatric cases or performed in addition to central blocks. It is hypothesized that QLB may provide better and longer analgesia, may increase the quality of recovery and reduce the development of resistant chronic pain, compared to other regional methods such as local infiltration or TAP block, that proven effectiveness.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

90

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Eskişehir, Turkey (Türkiye), 26040
        • Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine
      • Eskişehir, Turkey (Türkiye), 26040
        • Eskisehir Osmangazi Universty

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who will undergo elective unilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy under general anesthesia
  • American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) physical classification I-III

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who will undergo laparoscopic surgery
  • Previous inguinal hernia repair surgery
  • A history of opioid use or pain management
  • Coagulopathy or anticoagulant use
  • Patients who have difficulty communicating or who are not cooperative

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Group Q
Anterior quadratus lumborum block
Procedure: Anterior quadratus lumborum block
20 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine will be given
Active Comparator: Group T
Transversus abdominis plane block
Procedure: Transversus abdominis plane block
20 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine will be given
Active Comparator: Group L
Local infiltration
Procedure: Local infiltration
20 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine will be given

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of recovery assessed by Quality of recovery scale (QoR-15)
Time Frame: Postoperative 24th hour.
The 15-item quality of recovery (QoR-15) scale is a questionnaire used to evaluate the postoperative recovery quality of patients in the early postoperative stages. The QoR-15 score comprises 15 questions that assess 5 recovery domains, namely, physical comfort, physical independence, psychological support, emotional status, and pain. Each question is scored from 0 to 10 (0 none of the time to 10 all of the time).
Postoperative 24th hour.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative pain assessed by Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: At the 2nd, 6th, 12th, 24th and 36th hours
Postoperative pain levels during rest and movement (from supine to sitting position) will be evaluated by Numerical rating scale (0-no pain; 10-unbearable pain)
At the 2nd, 6th, 12th, 24th and 36th hours
Postoperative chronic pain assessed by Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: Three months later the operation date
Patients will be called by phone and the presence of chronic pain will be questioned with the Numerical Rating Scale (0-no pain; 10-unbearable pain).
Three months later the operation date
Postoperative neuropathic pain assessed by Douleur neuropathic pain (DN4) scale.
Time Frame: Three months later the operation date

Patients will be called by phone and the presence of neuropathic pain pain will be questioned with the Douleur neuropathic pain (DN4) scale.

The items of the DN4 are scored based on a yes (1 point) /no (0 points) answer. This leads to a score range of 0-10.
Three months later the operation date

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Eskisehir Osmangazi University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gulay Erdogan Kayhan, Prof Dr, Eskisehir Osmangazi University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 18, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 4, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 18, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ESOGUhernia

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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.

Clinical Trials on Postoperative Pain

Clinical Trials on Anterior quadratus lumborum block

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Tanzania

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe