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External Oblique and Rectus Abdominis Plane (EXORA) Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Umbilical Hernia Repair

External Oblique and Rectus Abdominis Plane (EXORA) Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Umbilical Hernia Repair: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07012603
Enrollment
50
Registered
2025-06-10
Start date
2025-06-10
Completion date
2026-03-19
Last updated
2026-04-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

External Oblique and Rectus Abdominis Plane, Postoperative Analgesia, Umbilical Hernia Repair

Brief summary

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the external oblique and rectus abdominis plane (EXORA) block for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing umbilical hernia repair.

Detailed description

Umbilical hernias account for approximately 6-14% of adult abdominal wall hernias. These hernias are typically acquired and are mainly caused by increased abdominal pressure. Umbilical hernias do not heal on their own and usually require surgical intervention. The external oblique and rectus abdominis plane (EXORA) block is an emerging technique providing a sensory block to the anterolateral abdominal wall. The EXORA block involves local anaesthetic injection into the fascial plane between the external oblique and rectus abdominis muscles. This method provides better dermatomal coverage, making the EXORA block particularly effective in the treatment of somatic pain in the anterolateral area of the upper and middle abdomen.

Interventions

Patients will receive an external oblique and rectus abdominis plane (EXORA) block using 20 mL of bupivacaine 0.25%.

OTHERSham block

Patients will receive a sham block using 20 mL of normal saline as a control group.

Sponsors

Tanta University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age from 18 to 65 years. * Both sexes. * American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) physical status I-II. * Undergoing umbilical hernia repair.

Exclusion criteria

* History of allergies to local anesthetics. * Bleeding or coagulation disorders. * Anatomical abnormalities. * Psychiatric and neurological disorders. * Local infection at the site of injection. * Complicated hernial defects \[strangulated, incarcerated, or obstructed cases\].

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Total morphine consumption24 hours postoperativelyRescue analgesia of morphine will be given as 5 mg bolus if the numeric rating scale (NRS) \> 3 to be repeated after 30 min if pain persists until the NRS \< 4.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Time to the 1st rescue analgesia24 hours postoperativelyTime to the first request for the rescue analgesia (time from the end of surgery to first dose of morphine administrated).
Intraoperative fentanyl consumptionIntraoperativelyAdditional fentanyl bolus dosages of 1 µg/kg IV will be administered if heart rate or mean arterial blood pressure elevated more than 20% of the baseline (after exclusion of other causes than pain).
Degree of pain24 hours postoperativelyEach patient will be instructed about postoperative pain assessment with the numeric rating scale (NRS) score. NRS (0 represents "no pain" while 10 represents "the worst pain imaginable"). NRS will be assessed at post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 h postoperatively.
Mean arterial pressureTill the end of surgery (Up to 2 hours)Mean arterial pressure will be recorded preoperatively and every 30 minutes till the end of surgery.
Heart rateTill the end of surgery (Up to 2 hours)Heart rate will be recorded preoperatively and every 30 minutes till the end of surgery.
Incidence of adverse events24 hours postoperativelyIncidence of adverse events such as bradycardia, hypotension, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, or any other complication will be recorded.

Countries

Egypt

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 23, 2026