Ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block in coronary artery bypass surgery: the role of local anesthetic volume-a...

Erector spinae plane block has been shown to help with pain management in different regions and many areas with different indications. However, the effectiveness of this block in cardiac surgery has been shown in the literature, the optimal volume remains unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the analgesic efficacy of two different volumes of local anesthetic injection used in ultrasound-guided bilateral-thoracic erector spinae plane block in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft.

This study was conducted on adult patients undergoing surgery with coronary artery bypass graft, and 70 patients were analyzed in each group. Group 20 received erector spinae plane block with 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine, Group 30 received 30 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine bilaterally. Postoperative sternotomy and chest tube-related pain were evaluated using the numerical rating scale (NRS) at rest and during movement.

There were significant differences between the groups regarding rescue tramadol consumption was higher in Group 20 than in Group 30 (25/35 vs. 2/35, p < 0.001). In addition, there were substantial differences between the two groups concerning the time of the first-rescue analgesic requirement. The mean time ± standard deviation was 11.26 ± 9.57 h and 24.03 ± 4.12 h in Groups 20 and 30 (p < 0.001). The median scores, both at sternotomy and chest tubes, were significantly lower in Group 30 than in Group 20 at the different time points after the surgery (p < 0.05).

In coronary artery bypass graft surgery, erector spinae plane block performed with 30 ml instead of 20 ml on each side resulted in less pain in the sternum and chest tube region, less need for rescue analgesics, and delayed first-rescue analgesic requirement.