Research Articles | Challenge Journal of Perioperative Medicine

Cost-effectiveness of fascial plane blocks in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A retrospective study

Serpil Sehirlioglu


DOI: https://doi.org/10.20528/cjpm.2025.03.002
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Abstract


Background: Fascial plane blocks have increasingly been used in recent years as a component of multimodal analgesia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of fascial plane blocks, applied for postoperative analgesia, on hospital costs in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) procedures.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective, single-center study included 1414 patients who underwent elective LC under general anesthesia between 2020 and 2025. Patients were divided into two groups: those who received fascial plane blocks (Group M, n=346) and those who received the standard analgesia protocol (Group S, n=1068). Total hospital invoice costs at discharge, length of hospital stay, demographic characteristics, ASA scores, and comorbidities were compared between the groups.

Results: No significant differences were observed between the groups regarding age, sex, or comorbidity rates. Hospital length of stay was similar. In the overall analysis covering 2020–2025, hospital costs were significantly lower in the fascial plane block group (p<0.001). Subgroup analyses by year revealed a significant cost difference in favor of the fascial plane block group only in 2024.

Conclusions: In addition to providing effective analgesia, fascial plane blocks reduced hospital costs in LC procedures, contributing as a cost-effective component of multimodal analgesia.


Keywords


laparoscopic cholecystectomy; fascial plane block; cost-effective analgesia; multimodal analgesia

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