were male (n=14). Average patient BMI was 28.7. Mean anesthesia preparation time was 82 minutes. Return of bowel function was a mean of 3.5 days post-operatively and urinary catheter removal was 1.8 days. Median hospital length of stay was 6.5 days. Seven patients were readmitted within 30 days of surgery (24%) and there were no deaths. Ten patients (34%) had complications within 30 days of surgery which included 3 superficial site infections, 2 organ space infections, 1 patient with atrial fibrillation, 1 patient with bleeding and 3 other causes. There were no recorded adverse events related to the ESPB procedure. No patients required rescue thoracic epidural catheter placement or intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCA). Mean MME for first 72 hours after surgery was 40 mEq and 82 mEq for the entire inpatient stay. Nine patients received a mean of 18 mEq of opioid medications in the first 24 hours after surgery, followed by no further opioids. Three patients did not require any opioids after surgery. Conclusion: ESPB presents an effective and safe mode of regional analgesia in patients undergoing open pancreatectomy and shows promise as a key element in opioidsparing post-operative pain regimens. The expanded role of ESPB in major abdominal surgery warrants further investigation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.