Erector Spinae Blocks for Spine Surgery: Fact or Fad? Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Abstract

Patients undergoing spine surgery may experience substantial postoperative pain. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the clinical efficacy of a newly introduced regional anesthetic block, the erector spinae plane block (ESPB), for adults undergoing posterior spine surgeries. A formal systematic database search was conducted in PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar for randomized controlled trials comparing ESPB with control or placebo. Our systematic review demonstrates a reduction of postoperative pain and opioid consumption in patients who had ESPB compared with control groups for lumbar spine surgery. However, the effect obtained revealed only a short-term benefit. Current evidence is insufficient to support the widespread use of ESPB for spine surgery. More studies are warranted to confirm or refute its role in clinical practice.