The transversus abdominis plane block and post-caesarean analgesia: are we any closer to defining its role?

The transversus abdominis plane block and post-caesarean analgesia: are we any closer to defining its role?

The provision of high-quality pain relief after caesarean delivery is something that women desire and obstetric anaesthetists aspire to provide. The reality is that this can be a somewhat lofty ambition, for a variety of reasons such as difficulty predicting an individual’s pain, inter-patient variability in the analgesic response and contraindications to certain techniques. Furthermore, resource limitations may exist, such as the inability to provide an appropriate level of post-operative care following neuraxial morphine or there may be a lack of equipment for example, patient-controlled epidural analgesia pumps. Consequently, there is no universally accepted ‘gold standard’ method of post-caesarean analgesia with most units having preferred approaches that work well for the majority of women for whom they care.