Regarding: Efficacy of Periportal Infiltration and Intraperitoneal Instillation of Ropivacaine After Laparoscopic Surgery in Children

We read with interest the article by Di Pace et al. ¹ As we strive to achieve a higher number of patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures as a day case, postoperative analgesia is becoming an important point of focus. However, the authors fail to fulfil many of the criteria laid down by the CONSORT statement, ² which provides guidance to improve the reporting of a randomized, controlled trial (RCT), enabling readers to understand a trial's design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation and to assess the validity of its results. The method of randomization needs further elaboration; details of the method of sequence generation are required, such as whether the patients and health care providers are blinded in order to reduce performance bias. Although the sample size is small, the authors fail to explain how this number was determined. The dose of local anesthetic is usually calculated in accordance with weight, rather than age groups, as laid out by the authors. The reader feels that the guidelines for good practice in postoperative and procedural pain management ³ should be adhered to. Overall, this topic has an important message, but the credibility of the authors' conclusions is weakened by the poor study design.