TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF PARAVERTEBRAL BLOCK AND INTERCOSTAL NERVE BLOCK FOR THORACIC HERPES ZOSTER : RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY

Study design & technique : Randomized Comparative  Prospective study

Study duration : 18 months****Study design & technique : Randomized Comparative  Prospective study

40  patients aged  greater than 40 years of age of either gender  with herpes zoster greater than 1 week since onset of rash, involving up to 2 thoracic dermatomes with Numerical rating score (NRS) greater than 4 who shall visit the pain clinic and fulfill the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be included . After taking their due consent ,patients will be randomized into 2 groups with 20  in each group using sealed opaque envelope techniquey duration : 18 months

Both the blocks will be performed under ultrasound guidance using a high frequency linear probe following  strict aseptic precautions and using standard American Society of Anesthesiology  monitoring

Group I – INTERCOSTAL NERVE BLOCK    2.5  mL bupivacaine 0.25% + 2 mg dexamethasone is injected for each level .

Group P :PARAVERTEBRAL BLOCK 15 ml of 0.25% Bupivacaine with 8 mg of Dexamethasone will be injected for   into the thoracic paravertebral space .

Follow up:  Pre procedure, immediate post procedure and at intervals of 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks   NRS,S - LANSS , SF 36 , complictions (if any ) and the  incidence of  Post herpetic neuralgia will be assessed