Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Nov;76(11):1499-1503.
doi: 10.1111/anae.15488. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

A randomised trial of bilateral erector spinae plane block vs. no block for thoracolumbar decompressive spinal surgery

D Finnerty  1 , A Ní Eochagáin  1 , M Ahmed  1 , A Poynton  1 , J S Butler  2 , D J Buggy  3
Affiliations
Free article
Randomized Controlled Trial

A randomised trial of bilateral erector spinae plane block vs. no block for thoracolumbar decompressive spinal surgery

D Finnerty et al. Anaesthesia. 2021 Nov.
Free article

Abstract

Major spinal surgery causes significant postoperative pain. We tested the efficacy and safety of bilateral erector spinae block on quality of recovery and pain after thoracolumbar decompression. We randomly allocated 60 adults to standard care or erector spinae block. Erector spinae block improved the mean (SD) quality of recovery-15 score at 24 postoperative hours, from 119 (20) to 132 (14), an increase (95%CI) of 13 (4-22), p = 0.0044. Median (IQR [range]) comprehensive complication index was 1 (0-3 [0-5]) in the control group vs. 1 (0-1 [0-4]) after block, p = 0.4. Erector spinae block reduced mean (SD) area under the curve pain during the first 24 postoperative hours: at rest, from 78 (49) to 50 (39), p = 0.018; and on sitting, from 125 (51) to 91 (50), p = 0.009. The cumulative mean (SD) oxycodone consumption to 24 h was 27 (18) mg in the control group and 19 (26) mg after block, p = 0.20. In conclusion, erector spinae block improved recovery and reduced pain for 24 h after thoracolumbar decompression surgery.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04370951.

Keywords: erector spinae plane block; postoperative analgesia; quality of recovery; regional anaesthesia; spine surgery; surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Gerbershagen HJ, Aduckathil S, van Wijck AJM, Peelen LM, Kalkman CJ, Meissner W. Pain intensity on the first day after surgery: a prospective cohort study comparing 179 surgical procedures. Anesthesiology 2013; 118: 934-44.
    1. Schug SA, Bruce J. Risk stratification for the development of chronic postsurgical pain. Pain Reports 2017; 2: e627.
    1. Liu SS, Wu CL. Effect of postoperative analgesia on major postoperative complications: a systematic update of the evidence. Anesthesia and Analgesia 2007; 104: 689-702.
    1. Meng Y, Jiang H, Zhang C, et al. A comparison of the postoperative analgesic efficacy between epidural and intravenous analgesia in major spine surgery: a meta-analysis. Journal of Pain Research 2017; 10: 405-15.
    1. Pendi A, Lee Y-P, Farhan S-D, et al. Complications associated with intrathecal morphine in spine surgery: a retrospective study. Journal of Spine Surgery 2018; 4: 287-94.

Publication types

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources