Anesthesia & Clinical Research
Open Access

Abstract

Postoperative Quality of Recovery after General Anesthesia with Local Infiltration or Spinal Anesthesia for Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial

Eduardo T Moro, Miller F Lambert, Felipe Augusto Horácio Ribeiro, Murilo Sunica Targueta, Helena Torricelli Pancevski, Thiago Patrício de Lima and Joshua Bloomstone

Background: Inguinal hernia repair can be performed using different anesthetic techniques. Although local anesthesia seems to be more cost-effective, spinal and general anesthesia remains very popular as alternatives or even as first-choice techniques. This randomized clinical trial evaluated the quality of recovery among patients submitted to hernioplasty under one of two techniques: general anesthesia using a laryngeal mask and a field block (GA) or spinal anesthesia (SA).

Methods: Seventy patients were randomized to one of two groups: GA or SA. The quality of recovery was assessed using a 40-item scoring system (Quality of Recovery Questionnaire-QoR-40). Early clinical recovery variables, such as the time from the end of surgery to exiting the operating room (OR), the time to fulfillment of the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) discharge criteria, the occurrence of nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, postoperative pain, and the length of the PACU stay, were also assessed.

Results: No significant differences were observed between groups when comparing the total or individual dimension scores of the QoR-40 questionnaire. The mean time from the end of surgery to exiting the OR was longer in the GA group than in the SA group (P<0.01). The patients in the SA group required a longer time to meet the PACU discharge criteria (P<0.01). The occurrence rates of nausea, vomiting, urinary retention and pain did not differ among the groups.

Conclusions: Quality of Recovery did not differ between patients who underwent inguinal hernia repair under GA or SA as assessed by the QoR-40 questionnaire.