Clinical outcome differences between the intrathecal morphine (ITM) group and erector spinae plane (ESP) block group
| Outcomes | ITM (n=27) | ESP (n=27) | P value* |
| Pain scores at PACU (0–10 NRS) | |||
| Lowest scores | 2.0±1.0 | 2.4±0.8 | 0.143 |
| Highest scores | 4.0±2.7 | 6.0±1.6 | 0.001 |
| Average scores | 3.0±1.6 | 4.2±1.1 | 0.002 |
| Pain score at 8 hours (0–10 NRS) | 0.7±1.2 | 2.2±1.3 | <0.001 |
| Pain score at 24 hours (0–10 NRS) | 1.3±1.1 | 2.5±1.0 | <0.001 |
| Pain score at 48 hours (0–10 NRS) | 3.2±1.7 | 2.4±1.0 | 0.272 |
| Pain score at 72 hours (0–10 NRS) | 2.2±0.6 | 2.1±1.1 | >0.99 |
| Intraoperative remifentanil consumption (µg/kg/min) | 0.03 (0.02–0.04) | 0.02 (0.01–0.03) | 0.055 |
| Intraoperative hypotension, n (%) | 5 (18.5) | 2 (7.4) | 0.420 |
| Cumulative opioid consumption converted to intravenous morphine equivalent (mg) | |||
| At PACU | 3.8 (0–3.8) | 3.8 (3.8–4.7) | 0.006 |
| At 8 hours | 3.8 (0–4.0) | 4.1 (3.8–5.1) | 0.003 |
| At 24 hours | 4.9 (1.0–13.7) | 9.5 (5.0–18.4) | 0.063 |
| At 48 hours | 11.6 (5.4–29.6) | 21.9 (15.2–26.7) | 0.076 |
| At 72 hours | 25.2 (13.2–43.6) | 33.0 (23.2–41.5) | 0.243 |
| Quality of sleep on the first night (Likert scale†; 1–5) | 4 (3–4) | 4 (3–4) | 0.111 |
| Patient satisfaction with pain relief at 24 hours (Likert scale†; 1–5) | 4 (3–4) | 3 (3–4) | 0.226 |
| Time to first flatus (days) | 2.3±0.6 | 2.3±0.5 | 0.830 |
| Length of hospital stay (days) | 7 (7–9) | 8 (7–9) | 0.327 |
Values are mean±SDs, median (IQRs) or number (percentages).
*The p value for the t-test or Mann-Whitney U test and is set at 0.05. Individual p values result from a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.
†Likert scale where 1=very dissatisfied, 2=dissatisfied, 3=neutral, 4=satisfied and 5=very satisfied.
NRS, numeric rating scale; PACU, postanesthetic care unit.