आईएसएसएन: 2155-6148
Sreya Bhattacharya, Shweta Mahajan*, Ajay Sood
Objective: Post-operative pain after modified radical mastectomy ranges from moderate to severe. Pectoralis (PECS) block has been found to be more effective than Erector Spinae Pain block in reducing pain and the consumption of analgesia in the post-operative period. This study aimed to compare the effect of ESP and PECS block on the quality of recovery after modified radical mastectomy with different dosage of drugs and different time of giving blocks.
Methods: The randomized controlled study was conducted at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, India, from March 2019 to March 2020. Patients were given blocks according to the computer-generated randomisation 30 minutes before shifting to the operation theatre. Group A received ESP block and group B received modified PEC block. Patient VAS score, NRS score and demand of rescue analgesia with patient satisfaction was recorded for 48 hrs post-operatively.
Results: A total of 60 patients were included (30 in each group). In the post-operative period, the mean VAS scores were statistically significant at 4, 8 and 24 hours postoperatively between the two groups with significantly lower VAS scores in Group A than in Group B. The total requirement of rescue analgesic was significantly lower in the ESP group than in the PECS group with p value 0.0154(<0.05). The time to first rescue analgesia was significantly higher in the ESP group (11.21 ± 3.14) hours than in the PECS group (6.15 ± 3.52) hours.
Conclusion: Both ESP and PECS block were effective in improving the VAS score and in reducing the consumption of rescue analgesia after modified radical mastectomy.