Characteristics of participants overall and as a function of block type
| Overall | SAP | PA | TEA | P value* | |
| Age, mean (SD) | 61.3 (18.4) | 70.0 (18.4) | 65.5 (17.0) | 59.9 (18.8) | 0.50 |
| ISS score, mean (SD) | 23.9 (11.2) | 26.9 (12.7) | 18.2 (8.2) | 24.1 (10.2) | 0.10 |
| RFS, mean (SD) | 15.5 (9.5) | 15.1a (9.1) | 11.1b (4.8) | 17.6a (10.6) | 0.02 |
| CCI, mean (SD) | 2.6 (2.3) | 2.5 (2.4) | 3.1 (2.3) | 2.5 (2.2) | 0.95 |
| AIS scores, mean (SD) | |||||
| Head | 0.8 (1.6) | 1.2a (1.9) | 0.4b (1.0) | 0.7b (1.5) | 0.02 |
| Face | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.4 (0.8) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.06 |
| Thorax | 3.8 (0.6) | 3.7a (0.7) | 3.6a (0.7) | 3.96b (0.6) | 0.01 |
| Abdomen | 0.6 (1.2) | 0.7 (1.3) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.6 (1.1) | 0.58 |
| Spine | 0.8 (1.2) | 1.1 (1.2) | 0.5 (0.9) | 0.9 (1.1) | 0.23 |
| Pelvis | 0.5 (1.2) | 0.6 (1.4) | 0.3 (1.00.) | 0.5 (1.2) | 0.62 |
| Limbs | 1.0 (1.1) | 1.2 (1.2) | 0.5 (0.9) | 1.2 (1.1) | 0.80 |
| Other | 0.1 (0.3) | 0.1a (0.4) | <0.1b (0.2) | <0.1a (0.2) | 0.02 |
| P value† | |||||
| Gender, n (%) | |||||
| Female | 98 (27.9) | 27 (23.5) | 29 (42.65) | 42 (25.00) | |
| Male | 253 (72.1) | 88 (76.5a) | 39 (57.35b) | 126 (75.00a) | 0.01 |
| Trauma type, n (%) | |||||
| Polytrauma | 258 (73.5) | 90 (78.3) | 38 (55.88) | 130 (77.38) | |
| Isolated | 93 (26.5) | 25 (21.7a) | 30 (44.1b) | 38 (22.6a) | <0.01 |
| Surgical rib fixation, n (%) | |||||
| Yes | 74 (22.) | 22 (19.6) | 14 (23.3) | 38 (25.0) | |
| No | 250 (77.2) | 90 (80.4) | 46 (76.7) | 114 (75.0) | 0.59 |
| Intubated at time of block, n (%) | |||||
| Yes | 50 (24.8) | 24 (28.9) | 1 (4.0) | 25 (26.6) | |
| No | 152 (75.3) | 59 (71.1a) | 24 (96.0b) | 69 (73.4a) | 0.04 |
| Mechanism, n (%) | |||||
| Fall <2 m | 107 (32.) | 35 (32.1a) | 32 (48.5b) | 40 (25.2b) | |
| Fall >2 m | 55 (16.5) | 16 (14.7) | 11 (16.7) | 28 (17.6) | |
| Vehicle | 148 (44.) | 53 (48.6a) | 18 (27.3b) | 77 (48.4b) | |
| Other | 24 (7.2) | 5 (4.6) | 5 (7.6) | 14 (8.8) | 0.02 |
| Most severely injured region, n (%) | |||||
| Chest | 247 (4.0) | 64 (58.7a) | 57 (86.4b) | 126 (79.3b) | |
| Head | 26 (7.8) | 15 (13.8a) | 2 (3.0b) | 9 (5.7b) | |
| Other | 61 (18.3) | 30 (27.5a) | 7 (10.6b) | 24 (15.1b) | <0.001 |
If letters differ (a/b), they indicate significant differences in the post hoc comparisons at alpha 0.05.
*P value from ANOVA.
†P value from χ2 test.
AIS, abbreviated injury score; ANOVA, analysis of variance; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; ISS, injury severity score; PA, paravertebral catheter; RFS, rib fracture score; SAP, serratus anterior plane; TEA, thoracic epidural.