INTRODUCTION We conducted a single-centre, prospective randomised clinical trial to investigate the analgesic efficacy of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block in adult patients undergoing laparoscopic appendicectomy. METHODS Patients undergoing urgent laparoscopic appendicectomy under general anaesthesia alone (control group) and general anaesthesia supplemented by TAP block (TAP intervent...

HISTORY OF THE TAP BLOCK Abdominal field blocks and costo-iliac block have been used in anaesthesia for surgery involving the anterior abdominal wall for several decades. A technique involving multiple injections of local anaesthetic in the abdominal wall was used in the 1980s.1 This technique was improved with a blind landmark technique, via the ‘lumbar triangle of Petit’.2 The clinical effica...

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a severe neuropathic pain syndrome. The treatment of PHN is complex and refractory in some patients. We present two cases with refractory anterior abdominal wall pain due to PHN that were successfully treated with transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block. The TAP block seems to be an alternative for patients with PHN who suffer from anterior abdominal wall pain ac...

Current evidence suggests that movement quality is impacted by postural adjustments made in advance of planned movement. The trunk inevitably plays a key role in these adjustments, by creating a stable foundation for limb movement. The purpose of this study was to examine anticipatory trunk muscle activity during functional tasks in children with and without developmental coordination disorder ...