Objective:Continuous thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) is compared with erector spinae plane (ESP) block for the perioperative pain management in patients undergoing cardiac surgery for the quality of analgesia, incentive spirometry, ventilator duration, and intensive care unit (ICU) duration.Methodology:A prospective, randomized comparative clinical study was conducted. A total of 50 patients were enrolled, who were randomized to either Group A: TEA (n = 25) or Group B: ESP block (n = 25). Visual analog scale (VAS) was recorded in both the groups during rest and cough at the various time intervals postextubation. Both the groups were also compared for incentive spirometry, ventilator, and ICU duration. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent Student's t-test. A value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:Comparable VAS scores were revealed at 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, and 12 h (P > 0.05) at rest and during cough in both the groups. Group A had a statistically significant VAS score than Group B (P ≤ 0.05) at 24 h, 36 h, and 48 h but mean VAS in either of the Group was ≤4 both at rest and during cough. Incentive spirometry, ventilator, and ICU duration were comparable between the groups.Conclusion:ESP block is easy to perform and can serve as a promising alternative to TEA in optimal perioperative pain management in cardiac surgery.

Background: Pectoral nerve (PECS1) block has been used for patients undergoing cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) insertions, however, PECS1 block alone may lead to inadequate analgesia during tunneling and pocket creation because of the highly innervated chest wall. Transversus thoracis muscle plane (TTM) block targeting the anterior branches of T2-T6 intercostal nerves can be effectively used in combination with PECS1 for patients undergoing CIED insertion. The present study hypothesized that combined PECS1 and TTM blocks would provide effective analgesia for patients undergoing CIED insertion compared to PECS1 block alone. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult patients between the age group of 18–85 years undergoing CIED insertion were enrolled in the study. A prospective, randomized, comparative, pilot study was conducted. A total of 30 patients were enrolled, who were randomized to either Group P: PECS1 block ( n = 15) or Group PT: PECS1 and TTM blocks ( n = 15). The intraoperative requirement of midazolam and local anesthetic and level of sedation by Ramsay sedation score were noted. The pain was assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) at rest and during a cough or deep breathing at 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h after the procedure. Results: VAS scores at rest were significantly lower in group PT at 0, 3, 6, and 12 h postprocedure, and during cough at 0, 6, and 12 h after the procedure ( P < 0.05). At 24 h, VAS scores were comparable between both groups. Intraoperative midazolam consumption was higher in group P compared to group PT ( P = 0.002). Fourteen patients in group P received local anesthetic supplementation in comparison to only one patient in group PT ( P = 0.0001). Thirteen patients in group P received the first rescue analgesia in comparison to three patients in group PT ( P = 0.0003). Conclusion: Combined PECS1 and TTM blocks provide superior analgesia, reduced net consumption of local anesthetic, sedative agents, and rescue analgesics compared to PECS1 block alone in patients undergoing CIED insertion.

Background: Cardiac output (CO) assessment is a corner stone in advanced haemodynamic management, especially in critical ill patients. The present study was conducted to validate cardiac index and cardiac output by NICaS™ with the thermodilution technique using pulmonary artery catheter in post-operative cardiac surgical patients. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective observational clinical study conducted at a tertiary care hospital. 23 adult patients in the age range of 18-65 years who had undergone for elective coronary artery bypass grafting were included in the study. Results: Spearman's correlation coefficient of cardiac index between continuous Thermodilution (cTD) and Non-Invasive Cardiac System (NICaS™) showed a good correlation (r = 0.765, 95% confidence interval 0.70 to 0.82, P < 0.0001). There was a good correlation between cTD and NICaS™ for cardiac output (r = 0.759, 95% confidence interval 0.69 to 0.81, P < 0.0001), Bland-Altman plot for cardiac index between cTD and NICaS™ showed a mean bias of −0.66 ± 0.6919 with limits of agreement being −2.02 to 0.6936. Bland-Altman plot for cardiac output between cTD and NICaS™ showed a mean bias of −1.0386 ± 1.17 with limits of agreement being −3.34 to + 1.26. Percentage error for cardiac index and cardiac output were 64.78% and 64% respectively. Polar plot analysis showed an angular bias of 6.32° with radial limits of agreement being −8.114° to 20.75° for cardiac index and angular bias of 5.6682° with radial limits of agreement being −9.1422° to 20.4784° for cardiac output. Conclusion: NICaS™ demonstrated a good trending ability for both CI and CO. However, NICaS™ derived parameters are not interchangeable with the values derived from continuous thermodilution technique.

Background: Upper thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) is compared with lower thoracic epidural analgesia for the perioperative pain management and fast tracking in patients undergoing off pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) surgery for the intraoperative hemodynamic, quality of analgesia, incentive spirometry, time to awakening & extubation and intensive care unit (ICU) duration. Materials and Methods: A prospective, randomized comparative clinical study was conducted with total of 60 patients randomized to either Group U: Upper TEA ( n = 30) or Group L: Lower TEA ( n = 30). Visual analog scale (VAS) was recorded in both the groups during rest and deep breathing at the various time intervals postextubation. Both the groups were also compared for intraoperative hemodynamics, incentive spirometry, time to awakening, and extubation and ICU duration. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent Student's t -test. A value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Postextubation VAS score at rest and deep breathing at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h were statistically significant in both groups ( P ≤ 0.05). Incentive spirometry, time to awakening and extubation and duration of ICU stay were also statistically significant ( P ≤ 0.05) between the groups. Conclusion: Lower thoracic epidural was better than upper thoracic epidural in perioperative pain management and fast tracking in OPCAB surgery.

Objective: Thoracic Epidural Analgesia (TEA) was compared with ultrasound-guided bilateral erector spinae plane (ESP) block in aorto-femoral arterial bypass surgery for analgesic efficacy, hemodynamic effects, and pulmonary rehabilitation. Design: Prospective randomized. Setting: Tertiary care centre. Participants: Adult patients, who were scheduled for elective aorto-femoral arterial bypass surgery. Interventions: It was a prospective pilot study enrolling 20 adult patients who were randomized to group A (ESP block = 10) and group B (TEA = 10). Monitoring of heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pain assessment at rest and deep breathing using visual analog scale (VAS) were done till 48-h post-extubation. Rescue analgesic requirement, Incentive spirometry, oxygenation, duration of ventilation and stay in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were reported as outcome measures. Statistical analysis was performed using unpaired Student T-test or Mann-Whitney U test. A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: HR was lower in group B than group A at 1 and 2 h post- surgery and at 0.5, 16, 20, and 32 h post-extubation ( P < 0.05). MAP were lower in group B than A at 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270 minutes and at 0 hour post-surgery and at 4 hours, every 4 hours till 32 hours post-extubation ( P < 0.05). Intraoperative midazolam and fentanyl consumption, ventilatory hours, VAS at rest, incentive spirometry, oxygenation, and ICU stay were comparable between the two groups. VAS during deep breathing was more in group A than B at 0.5, 4 hours and every 4 hours till 44 hours post-extubation. The time to receive the first rescue analgesia was shorter in group A than B ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: Both ESP block and TEA provided comparable analgesia at rest. Further studies with larger sample size are required to evaluate whether ESP block could be an alternative to TEA in aorto-femoral arterial bypass surgery.