Background: Patients posted for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (VATS) are nowadays managed intraoperatively by general anesthesia (GA) with the use of oral and parenteral analgesics in the post-operative period. Ongoing research points out that the erector spinae plane block (ESP Block) with local anesthetics is a safe technique for the perioperative management of pain in thoracoscopic procedures.
Aims and Objectives: Our study aimed at comparing ultrasound guided ESP block using local anesthetics versus GA for perioperative pain management in patients who underwent thoracoscopic procedures. The objectives of this research were to assess the hemodynamic changes in patients undergoing the procedure, to calculate the total amount of analgesics required by patients in the next 24 h, to assess the overall patient satisfaction and complications in the post-operative period.
Materials and Methods: In this prospective comparative randomized controlled trial, 40 patients aged 18–65 years planned to undergo VATS were enrolled and randomized to either group G or group E in equal numbers depending on the anesthetic technique employed. Group G patients received GA and Group E patients received ultrasound guided ESP block. Both the groups were compared for hemodynamic stability, pain in postoperative period using visual analog scale (VAS), time to first rescue analgesia requested since induction, total amount of rescue analgesia requested, overall patient satisfaction, and post-operative complications.
Results: Better control of hemodynamic parameters, less post-operative pain, prolonged duration of analgesia (P < 0.05), and requirement of lesser amount of rescue analgesics were observed in patients of Group E in comparison with patients of Group G. Side effects such as post-operative nausea and vomiting were more in patients of Group G in the first 24 h (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: ESP block with local anesthetics can be used as an effective sole anesthetic technique for VATS
Key words: Erector Spinae Plane Block; General Anesthesia; Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgeries; Pain
|
