Comparison of analgesic efficacy of ultrasound guided erector spinae plane block with port site infiltration in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A SINGLE BLIND randomized controlled trial.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard treatment for gallstone disease, yet many patients still experience moderate-to-severe postoperative pain. Opioid-based analgesia, though effective, is limited by side effects such as respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, and delayed recovery, making multimodal, opioid-sparing strategies preferable. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB), first described in 2016, has shown promising results in thoracic and upper abdominal surgeries, but evidence in laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains limited. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of ESPB combined with port-site infiltration compared with port-site infiltration alone in adult patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either ultrasound-guided ESPB at the T7–T8 level with port-site infiltration or port-site infiltration alone, with standardized general anesthesia and non-opioid analgesia in both groups. The primary outcome is the time to first rescue analgesia within 24 hours, with intraoperative fentanyl consumption as a key secondary outcome. Additional endpoints include postoperative opioid use, pain scores, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, recovery quality, and block-related complications. Approximately ninety-two patients will be enrolled to detect a clinically significant difference with adequate power. By assessing whether ESPB can reduce perioperative opioid requirements and prolong postoperative analgesia, this study seeks to establish its role in enhancing multimodal pain management for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Our research hypothesis will be Ultrasound guided erector spinae block may reduce the requirement of intraoperative fentanyl consumption and increase the time of 1st rescue analgesic dose.