Exploring the Impact of Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block Anesthesia on the Quality of Life of Patients in Iraq

Abstract

Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is a regional block which is being used more and more for postoperative analgesia following lower abdominal surgery, and information on the effects of TAP block on the patients' overall postoperative quality of life (QoL) is limited in Iraq. To compare the quality of life between patients that received a TAP block and patients that did not receive a TAP block when performing abdominal surgery and to determine factors associated with good quality of life one week after abdominal surgery. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a hospital setting on 211 adult patients from Iraq with a study period from 2025 to 2026 (112 with a TAP block and 99 without a TAP block) who underwent cesarean section, inguinal hernia repair, appendectomy, and cholecystectomy under general or spinal anesthesia. The Arabic version of the SF-36 (0–100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life) was used to measure QoL 7 days after surgery. A numeric rating scale (NRS) was used to measure pain at 24 hours. Data were analysed by using t-test, chi-square test, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and binary logistic regression (α = 0.05) to determine the results of the study. The average age was 38.3 ± 11.3 years, and 55.5% of the subjects were female. The overall SF-36 score was higher in the TAP group (61.8 ± 9.4 vs 53.2 ± 9.9; p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 0.90), with the largest gap in bodily pain (66.8 vs 47.7) and the physical component score (62.5 vs 51.0). Patients with a TAP block had less pain at 24 hours (3.0 vs 4.7), ambulated earlier (7.9 vs 11.7 hours), and used fewer rescue opioids (23.2% vs 61.6%). The adjusted overall SF-36 score was 7.1 points higher in TAP block (95% CI 4.1 to 10.1), and the adjusted odds of good QoL were 3.23 times greater in TAP block (95% CI 1.64 to 6.37). For this sample, TAP block was correlated with improved early postoperative QoL largely due to the physical and pain-related domains. As the design is a cross-sectional one, these associations should be verified by randomized or longitudinal studies