Article Text
Abstract
Background and Aims Lumbar discectomy is commonly performed for prolapsed intervertebral disc and degenerative spine. The erector spinae block is paravertebral by proxy fascial plane block whereas, the thoracolumbar interfacial plain block is a paraspinal plane block. We aimed to compare the efficacy of ultrasound-guided – Erector spinae block Vs thoracolumbar interfascial plane block for postoperative analgesia in lumbar discectomy surgeries.
Methods After obtaining institute ethical committee clearance and written informed consent, 60 patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups- Group E (bilateral lumbar ESP block) and Group T(bilateral TLIP block) received 40 ml of 0.2% ropivacaine and 1mcg/kg of dexmedetomidine after general anaesthesia. The primary objective was to compare VAS at rest and at activity at 30 mins, 1, 6, 12 and 24 hours postoperatively. The secondary outcome of the study was to compare the time to the first dose of rescue analgesia and the number of times rescue analgesia was needed.
Results The VAS score at activity was significantly lowered at all times in group E as compared to group T.(p<0.001) At rest, group E had lower VAS at all durations except at 1st hour. The time to 1st analgesic requirement and number of times rescue analgesia was needed was significantly lowered in group E than in group T.(P<0.001)
Conclusions Ultrasound-guided erector spinae block is a better technique as compared to ultrasound-guided thoracolumbar interfascial block for post-operative analgesia in lumbar discectomy surgeries.