Thoracic epidural catheter for postoperative pain control following an ineffective transversus abdominis plane block using liposome bupivacaine

Abstract

Brian D Terrien,1 David Espinoza,2 Charles C Stehman,3 Gabriel A Rodriguez,1 Nicholas C Connolly1 1Department of Anesthesiology, Naval Medical Center San Diego, 2Surface Warfare Medical Institute, San Diego, 3Department of Anesthesiology, Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital, Twenty Nine Palms, CA, USA Abstract: A 24-year-old female with a history of ulcerative colitis underwent colectomy. The patient received an ineffective transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block with liposome bupivacaine (Exparel) intraoperatively and was started on a hydromorphone patient-controlled analgesia 5 hours after the TAP block, which did not relieve her pain. A continuous thoracic epidural (CTE) was then placed after blood levels of bupivacaine were drawn, and the patient immediately experienced significant pain relief. The combined use of liposome bupivacaine and bupivacaine CTE infusion in the postoperative management of this patient demonstrated no safety concerns, provided excellent analgesia and plasma concentrations of bupivacaine remained far below toxic levels. Keywords: liposome bupivacaine (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), plasma bupivacaine levels, transversus abdominis plane (TAP) nerve block, thoracic epidural

Keywords

• Liposome bupivacaine (Bupivacaine Liposome Injectable Suspension)
• plasma bupivacaine levels
• Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) nerve block
• Thoracic Epidural