RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Surgery in patients with schistosomal liver disease is usually associated with high risks of morbidity and mortality. Bilateral paravertebral block (BPVB) has been advocated as a useful technique for ventral abdominal hernias' repairs. AIM OF THE STUDY: To compare the efficacy of BPVB with general anesthesia (GA) for anterior abdominal wall hernias in advanced schistosomal liver disease patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty patients were randomly allocated into two groups to receive either GA or BPVB. Variables were hospital stay, hemodynamic stability, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONY), postoperative pain measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS) with assessment of the hepatic cell integrity using glutathione S transferase alpha (GSTA) and other liver enzymes. RESULTS: The main significant finding was an apparently significant shorter length of hospital stay following BPVB as compared with GA in patients (P 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: BPVB was superior to GA following abdominal ventral hernia repair in schistosomal liver fibrosis patients.
