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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain (PPOP)
Published on: January 27, 2010
[Sensory block levels for pain relief after cesarean section]
Akio Yamagishi1, Osamu Takahata, Kenjiro Aoki
1Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Asahikawa Medical College, Asahikawa.
Background:
It has been proposed that sensory block from the 10 th thoracic nerve (T 10) to the 1 st lumbar nerve (L1) is necessary for pain relief after cesarean section. However, we have experienced complaints of unsatisfactory pain relief from some patients in whom T 10-L 1 sensory block was achieved. We evaluated the relation between range of sensory block and satisfaction regarding pain relief in patients after cesarean section.
Methods:
Pregnant patients after cesarean sections using continuous epidural infusion of 0.2% ropivacaine were allocated into two groups depending on the level of sensory block 6 hrs after surgery: below the T 10 level (T 10 group) and beyond the T 9 level (T 9 group). Degrees of satisfaction regarding pain relief and complications during a period of 16 hrs after surgery were compared.
Results:
Fifty patients were included in this study (21 in the T 10 group and 29 in the T 9 group). Sensory block in the T 9 group ranged from T 5 to T 9. The number of postoperative analgesics usage in the T 9 group was significantly less than that in the T 10 group.
Conclusions:
We propose that sensory block ranging from T 5 to T 9 in addition to T 10-L 1 is necessary to obtain satisfactory pain relief after cesarean section.
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