Ultrasound-Guided RSCTL vs EOIP Block for Analgesia in Sleeve Gastrectomy

January 1, 2026 updated by: Dina Mahmoud Fakhry, Beni-Suef University

Efficacy of Ultrasound-guided Retro Superior Costotransverse Ligament Space Block Versus External Oblique Intercostal Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Prospective Randomized Study

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of ultrasound-guided retro-SCTL space block and EOI block on opioid consumption within 24 hours after LSG.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Obesity is ranked as the 5th cause of preventable death and is associated with certain diseases, e.g., type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and sleep apnea. Egypt has the world's 18th highest obesity prevalence, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for weight loss, reducing obesity-related comorbidities and mortality. This surgery has been shown to improve quality of life. Bariatric surgery is now universally performed laparoscopically and is the most performed elective surgery in patients with morbid obesity. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been shown to be related to lower complication rates, shorter hospital stays, and earlier re-engagement in normal activities than open procedures. However, postoperative pain is common. Pain often originates from port sites in the abdominal wall. As LSG requires removal of the relatively large resected gastric segment, this often requires enlargement of the trocar site and the fascial incision, which adds to the pain. Postoperative pain may be significant and has a negative impact on recovery, respiration, hemodynamics, mentation, ambulation, bowel function, and length of hospital stay. Also, opioid analgesia in obese patients is associated with serious adverse effects such as hypopnoea, hypoxaemia, drowsiness, ileus, vomiting, delayed ambulation, and mortality. These complications are compounded by pre-existing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), cardiorespiratory insufficiency, psychiatric disorders, and chronic opioid use, which may be present in obese patients. Although epidural anesthesia is effective in pain control, positioning is extremely difficult in obese patients. Some regional anesthesia techniques such as transverse abdominis plane (TAP) block, quadratus lumborum (QL) block, and erector spinae plane (ESP) block may be used as a part of a multimodal analgesic regimen to reduce opioid consumption

. However, technical challenges such as difficulty in identifying the structures and limitations in needle movement may be experienced due to the deep anatomical location of structures when performing these blocks in patients with obesity.

Intertransverse process block (ITPB) is a paraspinal thoracic nerve block technique where the local anesthetic (LA) is injected into the thoracic "intertransverse tissue complex", behind the superior costotransverse ligament (SCTL). The retro superior costotransverse ligament space (retro-SCTL space) block is a novel ITPB, targeting the fat-filled space in the retro-SCTL space. ITPB may be technically simpler and safer to avoid pleural puncture than a thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) since it does not require direct needle access to the thoracic paravertebral space.

External oblique intercostal plane (EOI) block, a nerve block , has an efficacy range of T6-10. EOI block is one of the novel interfascial plane blocks. EOI block can be performed as part of multimodal analgesia for upper abdominal surgeries. In addition, easy visualization of the application area with ultrasound guidance is an advantage for obese patients. While both retro-SCTL and EOI blocks are emerging techniques, a direct comparison of their analgesic efficacy and opioid-sparing effects in the context of LSG has not yet been performed. This study aims to directly address this gap.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Egypt
    • Beni Suweif Governorate
      • Banī Suwayf, Beni Suweif Governorate, Egypt, 62511

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

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged between 18 to 65 years
  • Both genders
  • American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-II
  • Body mass index (BMI) > 40 kg m-2,

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Obesity secondary to an endocrine disorder
  • known allergic diathesis to any drugs used in the study
  • Presence of serious systemic illness (e.g., severe cardiac, pulmonary, renal, or hepatic dysfunction),
  • Coagulation dysfunction
  • Pre-existing psychological disorders
  • Current use of analgesic or psychotropic medications
  • Infection at a potential injection site
  • Ahistory of chronic pain
  • Conversion to laparotomy.

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: retro-SCTL block
Participants in the (group retro-SCTL) will receive ultrasound-guided retro-SCTL space block after intubation. Following hydrodissection with 2 ml of 0.9% saline to confirm the correct needle tip position, 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine was injected. The same procedure was then repeated with 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine on the contralateral side.
Procedure: ultrasound-guided Retro superior costotransverse ligament space block
Participants will receive ultrasound-guided Retro superior costotransverse ligament space block after intubation. Following hydrodissection with 2 ml of 0.9% saline to confirm the correct needle tip position, 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine was injected. The same procedure was then repeated with 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine on the contralateral side.
Active Comparator: EOI block
Participants in the (group EOI) will receive ultrasound-guided EOI block after intubation. Following hydrodissection with 2 ml of 0.9% saline to confirm the correct needle tip position, 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine was injected. The same procedure was then repeated with 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine on the contralateral side.
Procedure: ultrasound-guided External Oblique Intercostal Plane Block
Participants will receive ultrasound-guided External Oblique Intercostal Plane Block after intubation.Following hydrodissection with 2 ml of 0.9% saline to confirm the correct needle tip position, 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine was injected. The same procedure was then repeated with 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine on the contralateral side.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
cumulative morphine consumption within the first 24 hours.
Time Frame: 24 hours post operative
cumulative morphine consumption within the first 24 hours.
24 hours post operative

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain
Time Frame: 30 minutes, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours postoperatively
The VAS is a pain rating scale. Scores are based onself-reported measures of symptoms that are recorded witha single handwritten mark placed at one point along thelength of a 10-cm line that represents a continuum betweenthe two ends of the scale-"no pain" on the left end (0 cm) ofthe scale and the "worst pain" on the right end of the scale(10 cm).Visual analogue scale (VAS) score: will be assessed at rest and during movement at 30 min, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 h postoperatively. A score ≤ 3 will be considered acceptable for pain relief. Supplementary rescue analgesia will be administered in the form of morphine IV 2 mg (at VAS ≥ 4), which may be repeated after 20 minutes.
30 minutes, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours postoperatively
A Sedation scale
Time Frame: Initial 24 hours postoperatively
A Sedation scale will be applied to determine the sedation scores (0 = awake, 1 = drowsy, 2 = asleep but arousable, and 3 = deeply asleep). A sedation score of > 0 indicates being sedated at any time throughout the initial postoperative 24 hours
Initial 24 hours postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Beni-Suef University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dina M Fakhry, MD, Beni-Suef University

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 (Estimated)

February 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 10, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 22, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

December 31, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 1, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • FMBSUREC/05102025/Fakhry

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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