The effect of erector spinae plane block on postoperative analgesia and respiratory function in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Abstract Study objective Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) causes moderate-to-severe postoperative pain. Postoperative pain is one of the leading contributors to respiratory dysfunction following surgery. This study investigated the effect of erector spinae plane (ESP) block on postoperative analgesia and respiratory function in patients undergoing LC. Design Prospective, randomized, controlled trial. Setting University of Health Science. Patients Sixty-eight adult patients undergoing LC. Interventions Both groups received a standardized analgesia protocol. Patients assigned to the ESP block group received an additional bilateral ESP block. Measurements The primary outcome was assessed as postoperative pain intensity associated with a lower opioid requirement and significant respiratory function improvement. Main results Numerical rating scale (NRS) scores both at rest and during coughing were significantly lower in the ESP block group than in the control group at all time intervals (p  Conclusions Bilateral ESP blocks provides adequate analgesia, allowing for a lower opioid requirement and significant respiratory function improvement after LC; therefore, we concluded that ESP block could be added to the multimodal analgesia protocol in LC.