Effects of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Bupivacaine for Bilateral Erector Spinae Block in Lumbar Fusion Surgeries

Surgical treatment of adult lumbar spinal disorders is associated with a substantial risk of perioperative complications. The improvement in management and the development of new techniques in anesthesia and surgical sciences have led to substantial reduction of complications related to lumbar spine surgeries.

Understanding these complications is important and valuable for both the patient and the surgeon. Nevertheless, complications represent undesirable consequences of lumbar spine surgery in adult patients.

Degenerative lumbar disease is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide. The general incidence of lumbar stenosis accompanied by a significant deterioration in the quality of life reaches 5 % among patients aged < 50 years and approximately 10 - 15 % among elderly patients (50 - 70 years old) Moreover, lumbar stenosis appears to be one of the most common causes of decompression and fusion interventions in the lumbar spine in > 50 years old patients Lumbar surgeries refer to any type of surgical intervention involving any lumbar spine or lower back (between one or more of the L1 - S1 level), including operations for trauma and deformity. The complexity of procedures leads to an increase in comorbidities Major lumbar spine surgery causes severe postoperative pain, which typically persists for at least three days Risk factors most frequently associated with mortality include but are not limited to patients' age, sex, and comorbidity status Postoperative pain is one of the most troublesome pains for the surgical patients and is one of the causes of morbidity and prolonged hospital stay. Various studies have reported that maximal pain occurs in the first 4 postoperative hours and gradually declines by the third postoperative day .

Opiates and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been routinely used across the world. Recent resurge of regional anesthetic techniques offer some advantages, especially reduced postoperative nausea and vomiting and less sedation .

Ultrasound (US)-guided erector spinae plane blockade (ESPB) was first developed by Forero in 2016 as an easy and safe way of managing thoracic neuropathic pain. Since that time, this block has gained in popularity and has been used to effectively provide analgesia for a variety of surgeries, including spine surgery .