Efficacy of Paravertebral Nerve Blockade to Reduce Pain Following Thoracoscopy

Video-assisted thoracoscopy is increasing in popularity. Although it is considered a less invasive treatment than thoracotomy, patients have reported moderate to severe pain of variable duration. Benefits of adequate analgesia no longer need to be demonstrated. Optimal analgesia leads to faster recovery, reduces the risk of postoperative complications, enhances patient's satisfaction and quality of life following surgery. Furthermore, adequate postoperative analgesia may reduce the occurrence of chronic pain. The incidence of chronic pain following thoracoscopic procedures ranges from 20-47%.

The ideal postoperative analgesia regimen for the pain related to thoracoscopy has not been elucidated.

Systemic opioids given through patient-controlled devices (PCA) may be used after thoracoscopic procedures but the analgesic effect can be limited and undesirable side-effects may occur.

Thoracic epidural has emerged as the preferred pain control technique following thoracotomy. However, the role of epidural analgesia after thoracoscopy remains debatable. Side-effects may outweigh the benefits of the technique in the context of minimally invasive surgeries.

Paravertebral blockade is an alternative to epidural analgesia. The duration of pain relief associated with this technique may vary from 4 to 48 hours. Its effectiveness has been shown to be equal or superior to that of epidural analgesia for post-thoracotomy pain. Its popularity for pain management following thoracotomy has promoted its use after thoracoscopic procedures. Preoperative paravertebral blockade could also result in a reduction of chronic pain following surgery.

Intercostal nerve blockade is widely used to alleviate pain following thoracoscopy. This technique is known to provide adequate short-term pain relief.

Both paravertebral and intercostal blocks could be interesting adjuncts to patient-controlled devices for pain management following thoracoscopic procedures.

This study will compare the efficacy of preoperative paravertebral nerve blockade to intercostal nerve blockade performed before skin closure to PCA alone to reduce the intensity of pain following thoracoscopic procedures. All patients will have a PCA device as their primary analgesic modality.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients scheduled for an elective or emergency thoracoscopic surgery
• Physical status 1-4

Exclusion criteria

• Contraindication to paravertebral nerve blockade (coagulopathy, sepsis or local infection at the site of injection, spinal deformity)
• Severe renal or hepatic insufficiency
• A known allergy to local anesthetics, morphine or hydromorphone
• The inability to understand a verbal numerical pain scale (VNPS) despite previous instruction
• Preexisting pain at the site of the surgical incision
• Current use of opioids, anticonvulsants or tricyclic antidepressants
• A recent history of drug or opioid abuse
• Patient refusal