Evaluation of postoperative pain scores with deep versus moderate neuromuscular blockade during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Group 1: Deep neuromuscular blockade with bolus intraveneous 1 mg/kg rocuronium for 8 mmHg intraabdominal pressure for pneumoperitoneum at the beginning of the procedure. 5% carbon dioxide (CO2) at 37 degrees Celsius and 50% humidity was used for pneumoperitoneum from time of incision to time of closure of the abdomen. 0.1-0.2 mg/kg rocuronium was administered multiple doses at clinical discretion of anaesthetist to maintain deep neuromuscular blockade during surgery if post-tetanic count >1. Group 2: moderate neuromuscular blockade with bolus intraveneous 0.5 mg/kg rocuronium for 12 mmHg intraabdominal pressure for pneumoperitoneum at the beginning of the procedure. 5% carbon dioxide (CO2) at 37 degrees Celsius and 50% humidity was used for pneumoperitoneum from time of incision to time of closure of the abdomen. No further rocuronium was administered for moderate blockade.