Transversus abdominis plane block with liposomal bupivacaine for pain control after cesarean delivery: a retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: Adverse effects of opioid analgesics and potential for chronic use are limitations in the cesarean setting. Regional anesthesia using transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block post-cesarean delivery may improve analgesia and reduce opioid consumption. Effectiveness of TAP block using liposomal bupivacaine (LB) to reduce post-cesarean pain is unknown. METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective chart review of patients aged ≥18 years who underwent cesarean delivery with a multimodal pain management protocol with or without TAP block with LB 266 mg. Assessments included postsurgical opioid consumption; area under the curve (AUC) of numeric rating scale pain scores from 0 to 3 days; proportion of opioid-free patients; discharge- and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU)-ready time; times to ambulation, solid food, and bowel movement; hospital length of stay (LOS); and adverse events (AEs). Data were analyzed in the total population and in first- and repeat-cesarean subgroups using Wilcoxon, chi-squared, and Student's t-tests. RESULTS: Of 201 patients, 101 were treated with LB TAP block (LB-TAPB) and 100 without LB-TAPB. Treatment with LB-TAPB vs without LB-TAPB significantly reduced mean post-surgical opioid consumption (total, 47%; first-cesarean, 54%; repeat-cesarean, 42%; P<0.001 each) and mean AUC of pain scores (total, 46%; first-cesarean, 57%; repeat-cesarean, 40%; P<0.001 each). Patients treated with LB-TAPB had significantly shorter mean discharge-ready times (2.9 vs 3.6 days; P=0.006), PACU-ready times (138 vs 163 minutes; P=0.028), and LOS (2.9 vs 3.9 days; P<0.001). LB-TAPB significantly decreased mean times to ambulation and solid food by 39% and 31% (P<0.01 each), respectively, and numerically reduced mean time to bowel movement (26%; P=0.05). Fewer patients treated with LB-TAPB vs without LB-TAPB reported an AE (34% vs 50%; P=0.026). CONCLUSION: These results suggest multimodal pain management incorporating TAP block with LB 266 mg is an effective approach to reducing opioid requirements and improving analgesia post-cesarean delivery.

Body fat distribution in relation to smoking and exogenous hormones in British women.

OBJECTIVE: Both cigarette smoking and use of exogenous hormones are associated with changes in regional distribution of body fat, but their combined effects are less investigated. We examined the interrelation between smoking, exogenous hormones and fat distribution in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHOD: We used data from 20, 962 women without known cardiovascular disease (CVD) who were employees of a major department store in Britain. They completed a health questionnaire and attended a clinical examination that included waist and hip circumference measurements. The cross-sectional analyses were conducted using linear regression models. RESULTS: Cigarette smoking, particularly smoking ≥20 cigarettes/day, was associated with larger waist circumference and higher waist/hip ratio (WHR) in pre- and postmenopausal women after adjusting for potential confounding factors (all P < 0·001). Premenopausal women using combined oral contraceptive (COC) and postmenopausal women using oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) had lower WHR than non-hormone users in both smokers and nonsmokers. However, smokers had higher WHR than nonsmokers in both groups of hormone users and nonusers. There was no significant interaction between smoking and hormone use in premenopausal and postmenopausal women (P > 0·05). CONCLUSION: Although exogenous hormones use was related to a more favourable fat distribution in women, smoking was associated with greater abdominal fat accumulation.

Indices of obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in British women.

BACKGROUND: Obesity increases cardiovascular risk through effects on blood pressure, lipoproteins, coagulation factors and inflammatory cytokines, but in women variation in fat distribution complicates these relationships. Central (male-type or visceral) obesity confers greater risk than the more generalised (female) type. This is recognised by the metabolic syndrome which employs waist circumference rather than body mass index (BMI). We examined the relationships of several indices of fat distribution with cardiovascular risk factors in a large cohort of UK women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 13,389 female department store employees aged 30-65 years not receiving exogenous hormones completed a health questionnaire. Their blood pressure, weight, height, waist and hip circumference, serum cholesterol low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma fibrinogen were measured. RESULTS: There was a progressive rise in blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides, fibrinogen and CRP with age. After adjustment for these age effects, BMI was most closely related to blood pressure, whereas the waist to height ratio (WHTR) correlated more closely with the other risk factors than BMI, waist circumference or waist to hip ratio (WHPR). CONCLUSIONS: Inclusion of height in the definition of metabolic syndrome will produce a clearer association between waist circumference and cardiovascular risk factors. Hypertension may be linked to the metabolic syndrome by its association with general obesity rather than specifically by central obesity.