Akanksha Jain - Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Premraj Singh - Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Tanmay Tiwari - Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Vinod Digrashar - Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Regional analgesia has an important role in the multimodal analgesia approach for postoperative pain management. Recently, the use of PVB is increased for providing effective analgesia. ESP block is a comparatively newer modality, established as a good analgesic technique. This study aimed to compare the postoperative analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided ESP block and PVB in thoracic surgeries. Materials and Methods: This prospective randomized comparative double-blinded study involved ۶۰ patients who underwent different thoracic surgeries and were randomized to receive ultrasound-guided ESP block (group A) or PVB (group B) with ۲۰ ml ۰.۲۵% bupivacaine before induction of general anesthesia. Postoperatively, all patients received ۱gm intravenous paracetamol injection every ۸ hours. The primary outcome was to compare VAS scores at ۰, ۱, ۳, ۶, ۱۲, and ۲۴h, and secondary outcomes were assessed in terms of analgesic consumption and hemodynamic stability postoperatively Results: Group A had a significantly lower VAS score at ۰h, ۱h, ۳h, and ۶h postoperatively (p=۰.۰۲۶, ۰.۰۰۳, ۰.۰۰۳, and ۰.۰۰۲, respectively) than group B. Thereafter, comparable VAS scores were found at ۱۲ and ۲۴h. However, the mean VAS in either of the group was <۴ postoperatively. Rescue analgesic consumption was found comparable (p>۰.۰۵) in both groups. All patients exhibited stable hemodynamic profiles postoperatively. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided ESP block along with round-the-clock NSAIDs can be a better and safe alternative to PVB in thoracic surgeries with reduced analgesic consumption and hemodynamic stability.

Ultrasound, erector spinae plane block, paravertebral block, thoracic surgery, postoperative pain