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Updated: Oct 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy
Published on: January 31, 2025
The Effect of Ultrasound-Guided Erector Spinae Plane Block versus Thoracic Epidural Block on Postoperative Analgesia
Yi Ren1, Tiehua Zheng1, Lei Hua1
1Department of Anesthesiology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
The Nuss procedure is a recognized treatment for adolescent pectus excavatum that results in severe postoperative pain. Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a novel technique that provides postoperative analgesia and reduces opioid consumption. Our aim is to explore whether ESPB produces analgesia similar to thoracic epidural anaesthesia (TEA) in paediatric patients undergoing Nuss procedure.
Study Design And Methods:
This randomized, controlled, non-inferiority trial will enrol 300 paediatric patients undergoing Nuss surgery. Participants will be randomly assigned 1:1 to receive ESPB or TEA preoperatively. The primary, joint endpoint is the average numeric rating scale (NRS) score and cumulative sufentanil consumption. The secondary endpoints are pain scores and sufentanil consumption at different time points after surgery, analgesia-related side effects, and other postoperative complications. Data will be analysed by the intention-to-treat principle.
Discussion:
This study investigates the effect of ESPB on postoperative opioid consumption and pain scores and intend to provide a new strategy of analgesia management for Nuss procedure in paediatric patients.
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