A randomised prospective single-blind pilot study to compare the analgesic efficacy of thoracic epidural block and erector spinae plane block in breast cancer surgery.

Background and Aims: Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) is an effective analgesic technique for breast surgery, although it has many associated complications. Ultrasound (US)-guided erector spinae plane (ESP) block requires less technical expertise, is safe and may be an alternative to TEA. We aimed to compare the efficacy of TEA with US-guided continuous ESP block for post-operative analgesia in patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy (MRM) surgeries.

Methods: Sixty-six female patients of age group 18-65 years, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I and II, undergoing MRM surgeries were recruited. Patients received TEA in Group Ep and US-guided ESP block in Group Er, before induction of general anaesthesia. Both the groups received 0.2% ropivacaine 15 mL, followed by 5 mL.h-1 infusion for 24 h. The primary outcome was the duration of analgesia. Secondary outcomes were total doses of rescue analgesics in 24 hours and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at 0 h, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, and 24 h.

Results: The mean duration of analgesia was 21.72 ± 4.73 hours in Ep group and 20.60 ± 5.77 hours in Er group ( P = 0.39). The total dose of rescue analgesics in the postoperative period was comparable between both the groups. There was no significant difference in VAS scores between the groups over 24 h.

Conclusion: US-guided ESP block can be used as safe and easy to perform alternative analgesic technique over thoracic epidural analgesia for peri-operative pain management in breast cancer surgeries.