Effect of Left Erector Spinae Plane Block on Left Ventricular Functions

After extubation, respiratory therapy and pain management are important issues in postoperative care. Adequate postoperative pain control is necessary for a good respiratory effort. For years, the use of intravenous opioids has become the standard in pain management. Opioids administered to adequately control pain may cause sedation and respiratory depression. Due to the large number of opioid-related side effects, alternative pain relief methods are being sought.

Erector spinae area (ESP) block has recently been described in the treatment of pain after thoracic surgery (1,2,3).

The focus of this section is left thoracic ESP block, in which the cardiac sympathetic nerves (T1-T5) are involved in neural blockade. Many studies have shown a decrease in inotropic status (intrinsic function) after blockade of cardiac sympathetic innervation with thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) (4,5). There is no study in the literature investigating the cardiac effects of left thoracic ESP block. We think that left thoracic ESP block, like TEA, may have cardiac effects. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of left thoracic ESP block on left ventricular functions with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).

The study was designed as an observational study. After obtaining written informed consent from the patients, it was planned to apply the routine ultrasonography-guided ESP block to the patients. This application is performed in thoracic surgeries performed with general anesthesia as standard in our hospital.

Demographic data to be obtained, in addition to the outcomes of the above-mentioned study, will include recording height (cm), weight (kg), age (years), gender, (ASA) physical condition, and specific procedure type. Patients will be asked about tobacco and alcohol use, drug use. They will also be asked about their medical history, including lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, neurological disease, chronic pain conditions, previous surgery or stent placement, and medications. Current preoperative laboratory tests and medication list will be recorded. Parameters measured by TTE before and 15 minutes after the block will be recorded.