Clinical Research Directory

The Effect of High-thoracic Erector Spinae Plane Block on Postoperative Pain and Diaphragmatic Function in Posterior Cervical Spine Surgery

Posterior cervical spine surgery, often performed on older individuals with significant comorbidities, is one of the most painful surgical operations. Anesthesiologists face a unique challenge in managing pain following these surgeries,Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a relatively novel block and was first described for chronic thoracic neuropathic pain in 2016.Cervical erector spinae plane (ESP) block has been described to anesthetize the brachial plexus (BP), however, the mechanism of its clinical effect remains unknown. As the prevertebral fascia encloses the phrenic nerves, BP and erector spinae muscles to form a prevertebral compartment, a local anesthetic injected in the cervical ESP could potentially spread throughout the prevertebral compartment

Multifidus Cervicis and Inter-Semispinal Plane Blocks in Analgesia After Cervical Spine Surgery

Major spine surgery with multilevel instrumentation is followed by a large amount of opioid consumption, significant pain, and difficult mobilization Pain is one of the main factors limiting ambulation, increasing the risk of thromboembolism by immobility, and causing metabolic changes that affect other systems. Therefore, individualized pain management with the use of appropriate analgesic techniques is of paramount importance. Moreover, early intervention in rehabilitation aiming at a better postoperative recovery may reduce the length of hospital stay and return to daily activity. Effective pain management is one of the crucial components in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). Numerous regional anesthetic techniques have been used to provide analgesia following cervical spine surgery, including patient-controlled epidural analgesia, cervical paravertebral block, cervical plexus block, cervical erector spinae plane blocks, and local infiltration analgesia, however, each of these techniques has specific limitations that prevent them from being the analgesic technique of choice for such surgeries. Up to the author's knowledge, there is no study done to compare multifidus cervicis plane block versus inter-semispinal plane block in a randomized controlled clinical trial as preemptive analgesia in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery.