Comparison of the effects of ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block and erector spinae plane block on postoperative acute and chronic pain in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of ultrasound (US)-guided Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) and thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) on postoperative acute and chronic pain. Material and Method: Patients aged range of 18 to 80 years and underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) were included in a single-blinded randomized trial. All patients were informed about the study and their written consent was obtained. The primary outcome was determined as acute postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) scores, and secondary outcomes were postoperative morphine consumption and the incidence of chronic pain. US-guided ESPB and TPVB were performed to all patients and they were assigned randomly to ESPB (Group 1) and TPVB (Group 2) groups according to the analgesia protocol. Results: Visual analog scale (VAS) resting and VAS cough scores at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 16th hours were found to be statistically significantly higher in the TPVB group than in the ESPB group (p<0.05) Morphine consumption (p:0.042) and additional analgesic (p:0.037) use were found to be statistically significantly higher in the TPVB group compared to the ESPB group. As complications, only nausea and vomiting were observed with no significant difference between the groups (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in terms of postoperative 30th and 90th day pain characteristics between the groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: ESPB was superior to TPVB in terms of acute postoperative pain management, morphine consumption, and side effects, but the incidence of chronic pain in the first and third months after surgery was similar in both groups.