Transversus abdominis-plane block versus local anesthetic wound infiltration in lower abdominal surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Postoperative pain management is of great importance in perioperative anesthetic care. Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has been described as an effective technique to reduce postoperative pain and morphine consumption after open lower abdominal operations. Meanwhile, local anesthetic infiltration (LAI) is also commonly used as a traditional method. However, the effectiveness of these two methods has not been compared before.