Erector Spinae Plane Block as Pain Management After Lumbar Fusion Surgery

Summary

Rationale: Lumbar spine surgery is associated with high postoperative pain scores and analgesic use, despite use of multimodal analgesia. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a promising locoregional anesthetic technique for this type of surgery. The literature is not yet conclusive about the effectiveness of this technique on reducing postoperative pain intensity. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the analgesic effect of ESPB as add-on therapy to multimodal analgesia on early postoperative pain intensity after lumbar spinal fusion surgery compared to placebo. Study design: The study is designed as a prospective mono-centre, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Study population: 76 patients ≥ 18 years of age requiring elective lumbar spinal fusion surgery involving one to four fusion levels. Intervention: Patients will receive ultrasound-guided ESPB with either ropivacaine or placebo at the end of surgery. Main study parameters/endpoints: Main study parameter is pain intensity upon emergence from anesthesia measured with the Numeric Rating Scale. A minimal clinically important difference is considered to be a decrease of 1.5 points. Secondary endpoints are pain intensity during hospital stay and after 30 days, opioid use during hospital stay and after 30 days, opioid side effects, use of anti-emetics, time to first opioid use/request, length of hospital stay, quality of recovery at discharge. Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: The Sint Maartenskliniek is experienced in applying locoregional analgesia, the use of ropivacaine and using sonography. The procedure of administering ESPB has a very low risk of complications. Receiving placebo is justifiable because this group will not be withhold standard treatment. The risks of receiving placebo are negligible. The patients will visit the clinic at regular follow-up moments.

Timeline

Start

2022-06-01

Primary completion

2023-12-19

Completion

2024-01-19

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper The mean NRS 1-hour postanesthesia did not differ significantly between the ropivacaine and placebo group (3.8 ± 3 vs 4. 2 ± 2.6, P = .56). PMID 40601485 ↗

Publications

• Background Gerbershagen HJ, Aduckathil S, van Wijck AJ, Peelen LM, Kalkman CJ, Meissner W. Pain intensity on the first day after surgery: a prospective cohort study comparing 179 surgical procedures. Anesthesiology. 2013 Apr;118(4):934-44. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e31828866b3.
• Background Alboog A, Bae S, Chui J. Anesthetic management of complex spine surgery in adult patients: a review based on outcome evidence. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2019 Oct;32(5):600-608. doi: 10.1097/ACO.0000000000000765.
• Background Huang W, Wang W, Xie W, Chen Z, Liu Y. Erector spinae plane block for postoperative analgesia in breast and thoracic surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Anesth. 2020 Nov;66:109900. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2020.109900. Epub 2020 Jun 2.
• Background Qiu Y, Zhang TJ, Hua Z. Erector Spinae Plane Block for Lumbar Spinal Surgery: A Systematic Review. J Pain Res. 2020 Jul 1;13:1611-1619. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S256205. eCollection 2020.
• Background Yayik AM, Cesur S, Ozturk F, Ahiskalioglu A, Ay AN, Celik EC, Karaavci NC. Postoperative Analgesic Efficacy of the Ultrasound-Guided Erector Spinae Plane Block in Patients Undergoing Lumbar Spinal Decompression Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Study. World Neurosurg. 2019 Jun;126:e779-e785. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.02.149. Epub 2019 Mar 8.
• Background Singh S, Choudhary NK, Lalin D, Verma VK. Bilateral Ultrasound-guided Erector Spinae Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Randomized Control Trial. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2020 Oct;32(4):330-334. doi: 10.1097/ANA.0000000000000603.
• Background Forero M, Adhikary SD, Lopez H, Tsui C, Chin KJ. The Erector Spinae Plane Block: A Novel Analgesic Technique in Thoracic Neuropathic Pain. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2016 Sep-Oct;41(5):621-7. doi: 10.1097/AAP.0000000000000451.
• van de Wijgert IH, Fenten MGE, Rood A, van Boekel RLM, van Hooff ML, Vissers KCP. Erector Spinae Plane Block in Multimodal Analgesia After Lumbar Spinal Fusion Surgery: A Blinded Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Anesth Analg. 2026 Mar 1;142(3):551-560. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007611. Epub 2025 Jul 2.

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