Bilateral ultrasound guided erector spinae plane block vs. preoperative pregabalin for postoperative pain management in lumbar spine surgery
Abstract
Background & Objective: Injecting local anesthetics into the erector spinae plane and obstructing the dorsal and ventral rami could reduce the pain. Pregabalin and gabapentin are used to reduce neuropathic pain; however, pregabalin has demonstrated greater analgesic potency than gabapentin. This work aimed to compare the analgesic effects and complications between preoperative pregabalin and erector spinae plane block (ESPB) for lumbar spine surgery under general anesthesia.
Methodology: Sixty patients were allocated to the 2 groups using a computer-generated random number that was hidden in sealed, opaque envelopes. In Group 1, the patients received pregabalin 150 mg twice daily for 3 days before surgery. After preoxygenation and before induction of anesthesia, dexmedetomidine 1 µg/kg was given in both of the groups. In Group 2, after the patient was placed in the prone position for the operation and after the induction of general anesthesia, ESPB was carried out bilaterally under ultrasound guidance. Ropivacaine hydrochloride was administered at a quantity of 20 mL upon confirmation of the needle's proper insertion. Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) was used to assess the pain intensity.
Results: There was a longer-lasting analgesia in the ESPB group with significantly lower NRS only at 12 h and 18 h (P = 0.001) compared to the pregabalin group, but they were comparable at 24 h (P = 0.407). The time to request first rescue analgesic and the total morphine consumption were significantly different; a significantly longer time for the first rescue analgesic (17.10 vs. 11.73 h) and a significantly reduced amount of morphine consumption (6.30 vs. 10.33 mg) in ESPB group.
Conclusion: Both bilateral erector spinae plane block and preoperative pregabalin seem to be helpful for providing adequate pain management postoperatively for lumbar spine surgery; however, bilateral erector spinae plane block was superior in pain management during the first 24 h postoperatively with fewer side effects.
Abbreviations: ESPB - Erector Spinae Plane Block; α2-AR - Alpha 2 Adrenoreceptors; NRS - Numerical Rating Scale; ACE - Angiotensin Converting Enzyme; NaCl - Normal Saline; MAP - Mean Arterial Blood Pressure; IV - Intravenous; PACU - Post-Anesthesia Care Unit; X2 - Chi-square; IQR - Interquartile Range; MAC - Minimum Alveolar Concentration;
Preregistration: The study had approval from the Ethical Committee and Institutional Review Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University with approval code (35692/9/22).
Key words: US-ESPB; Ultrasound Guided; Erector Spinae Plane Block; Pregabalin; Lumbar Spine Surgery
Citation: Mohamed RM, Morsy I, Hamed JMD. Bilateral ultrasound guided erector spinae plane block vs. pregabalin for postoperative pain management in lumbar spine surgery. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2023;27(5):513−520; DOI: 10.35975/apic.v27i5.2306
Received: April 07, 2023; Reviewed & Accepted: July 01, 2023
