Moderate vs Deep Neuromuscular Block in Lower Pressure Pneumoperitoneum

Laparoscopic surgery has increasing popularity and slowly replacing conventional open surgery as it offers more benefit to patient and health care practitioner. The overall risk of complications during laparoscopic surgery is recognized to be lower than during laparotomy. Laparoscopic hysterectomy compare to open vaginal hysterectomy reduces postoperative pain, reduce post op analgesics requirement and shorter duration of hospital admission.1 However, the increase intra-abdominal pressure created during laparoscopic surgery can affect cardiovascular, pulmonary and renal physiology. Besides the risk of post-operative nausea and vomiting, it is also stated that the pneumoperitoneum created during laparoscopic surgery is an important factor in the cause of postoperative shoulder pain.2 Traditionally pneumoperitoneum created at 15mmHg3. Insufflation of intraabdominal carbon dioxide may cause post-operative shoulder pain up to 70% in some study in gynaecologic laparoscopic surgery. 4 Use a lower pressure pneumoperitoneum might decrease postoperative pain, decrease post-operative shoulder tip pain5 and reduce the risk of laparoscopic related complication6. Many studies used lower insufflation of intraabdominal pressure as an intraoperative intervention to reduce the complication7,8. However, a lower intraabdominal pressure may worsen surgical space and increase the risk of conversion to open surgery.

Though many factors contribute to the quality of surgical space include non-modifiable such as obesity, previous abdominal surgery and modifiable factors such as anaesthesia related factor, patient position and intraabdominal pressure. Numerous studies also have been carried out showing that deep neuromuscular block improves surgical condition in different type of laparoscopic surgery includes robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery.9,10,11 Currently with the advancement of technology where neuromuscular monitoring is widely available and the selective reversal binding agent suggamadex where post-operative complication of inadequate reversal can be markedly reduced, several studies have been done to observe the benefit of low intraabdominal pressure with deep neuromuscular block to surgical space quality and intraoperative complication related to high pressure intraabdominal complication compare to usual moderate block.9,10,12 However there is still few study objectively measure the possible effect of deep neuromuscular blocker on the surgical space and the ability of surgery to be completely done in low pressure pneumoperitoneum in laparoscopic gynaecological surgery.

This study will compare the rate of increasing intraabdominal pressure, skin to sacral promontary distance, and post operative pain between deep neuromuscular block and moderate neuromuscular block.

Inclusion criteria

• Age more than 18 years old
• ASA I or II
• schedule to undergo laparoscopic gynaecological surgery (laparoscopic hysterectomy and laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia , Kubang Kerian, Kelantan

Exclusion criteria

• Allergy to study drugs (rocuronium, suggamadex)
• Serious cardiac and respiratory disease (reactive airway disease, upper respiratory tract infection)
• Neurological or neuromuscular disease (epilepsy, family history and history of malignant hyperthermia etc.)
• Pregnancy
• Morbid obesity BMI>35