Trial reportBMC anesthesiology2026
Ultrasound-guided retro-superior costotransverse ligament space block (RSSB) versus subcostal transversus abdominis plane block (TAPB) for postoperative analgesia in gastric cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrectomy : a prospective randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC anesthesiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRetro-superior costotransverse ligament space block (RSSB) is a new variant of thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB), while subcostal transversus abdominis plane block (TAPB) is a commonly used analgesic technique in laparoscopic surgery. This study aimed to compare the effects of RSSB and TAPB on postoperative analgesia and quality of postoperative recovery in patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopic gastrectomy. We hypothesized that RSSB provides more comprehensive analgesia and promotes postoperative recovery than TAPB.
methodsThis prospective randomized controlled trial enrolled 60 patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopic gastrectomy. Eligibility criteria included age 18–85 years, body mass index (BMI) 18.5–28 kg/m², American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I–III, and scheduled elective laparoscopic gastrectomy. Patients were assigned to two groups in a 1:1 random manner. The RSSB group received bilateral injections of 40 mL 0.375% ropivacaine at the T7–8 level; the TAPB group received the same volume and concentration of ropivacaine (40 mL total, 20 mL per side) along the subcostal anterior axillary line. The primary outcome was the area under the curve (AUC) of numeric rating scale (NRS, 0 to 10) during 24 h postoperatively.
resultsA total of 52 patients were included in the analysis. NRS-AUC within 24 h postoperatively was significantly lower in the RSSB group compared to the TAPB group (mean (SD) AUC: 48.3 (24.0) vs. 75.4 (35.7), P = 0.002). The neural block spread range in the RSSB group was significantly wider than in the TAPB group (mean (SD) superficial spread segments: 5.2 (2.1) vs. 3.0 (0.7), P < 0.001). Meanwhile, the time to first Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) bolus request was markedly prolonged in the RSSB group compared with the TAPB group (mean (SD) 480.6 ± 385.8 vs. 249.1 ± 256.4, P = 0.034). Additionally, within the first 24 h postoperatively, the RSSB group scored higher on the Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) scale than the TAPB group (mean (SD): 122.4 (7.1) vs. 115.0 (16.4), P = 0.039). No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in other secondary outcome measures.
conclusionsThis study demonstrates that RSSB provides better postoperative analgesia than subcostal TAPB and improves early postoperative recovery quality in patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrectomy.
trial registrationChiCTR2500096679. Registered 1 February 2025 (prospectively registered).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.