Erector spinae plane blocks for cardiac surgery: Are we comparing apples to oranges?

Abstract

In this month's issue of the Journal of Cardiac Surgery, King et al.report "a systematic review and meta-analysis" of erector spinae plane blocks (ESPB) for patients undergoing median sternotomy.Using their described methodology, the authors found 498 articles through June 2021 and after excluding duplicate and irrelevant studies, completed 17 full article reviews, ultimately including 5 in their final analysis. They report no difference in postoperative pain scores, intraoperative opioids, time to extubation, and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay in patients receiving ESPB versus no ESPB. 1