The Efficacy of Ultrasound Guided Bilateral Pectoralis Nerve Block for Postoperative Pain Control in Cardiac Surgery, Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

ardiothoracic surgeries are associated with significant pain. Optimal analgesia is a vital part of enhanced recovery after surgery strategies intended to improve patients' perioperative experience and outcomes. Traditionally, analgesia in these types of surgeries has depended on large doses of I.V. opioids This is particularly pertinent given the current focus on removing needless perioperative opioid administration, and thereby decreasing the potential for opioid side effects. As an alternative, there is a growing appreciation for the critical role that regional anesthesia can play in an overall multimodal anesthetic strategy Among regional anesthesia strategies, techniques involving an injection of local anesthetic into fascial planes. Pectoralis nerve (Pecs) and serratus plane nerve blocks are newer ultrasound (US)-guided regional anesthesia techniques of the thorax. The increasing use of ultrasonography to identify tissue layers and, particularly, fascial layers has led to the development of several newer interfascial injection techniques for analgesia of the chest and abdominal wall. For instance, the Pecs I nerve block was devised to anesthetize the medial and lateral pectoral nerves, which innervate the pectoralis muscles.