Retrospective Cohort Study to Evaluate the Analgesic Effectiveness of Liposomal Bupivacaine for Renal Transplant Recipients.

Effective postoperative pain control is an essential component for all patients having a surgical procedure. Given the chronicity of care needed by chronic renal failure patients, providing them excellent pain control during their perioperative transplant period is imperative. Different forms of local anesthetics are available and our purpose was to determine whether liposomal bupivacaine reduces post-operative pain levels better than catheter directed administration of 0.25 percent bupivacaine. Secondary objectives included evaluation of differences in total narcotic use and total length of stay. A retrospective chart review of 57 bupivacaine patients and 40 liposomal bupivacaine patients was completed. The patients' reported pain on a 10-point pain scale, narcotic usage and total length of stay were collected. Results showed lower average pain scores on post-operative day 0 for patients receiving liposomal bupivacaine, as well as a fewer narcotics being used on post-operative day 0 and 1. Patients receiving liposomal bupivacaine also had shorter hospital stays by two days. We conclude that liposomal bupivacaine improved pain control and reduced narcotic use in renal transplant patients.