Bilateral paravertebral block in advanced schistosomal liver disease: a prospective study.
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.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy of BPVB with general anesthesia (GA) for anterior abdominal wall hernias in advanced schistosomal liver disease patients.


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.
Department of Anesthesia, King Fahad Hospital of the University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Haitham Ahmed
HA
Abou Zeid
Abdul Mohsen Abdulah
AM
Al-Ghamdi
Maha Sid-Ahmed
MS
Abdel-Hadi
Hazem Mohamed
HM
Zakaria
Abdel Aziz Abdulatif
AA
Al-Quorain
Maisa Noureldin
MN
Shawkey