The erector spinae plane block for analgesia after lumbar spine surgery: A systematic review

James M Rizkalla; Brendan Holderread; Matthew Awad; Andro Botros; Ishaq Y Syed

doi:10.1016/j.jor.2021.02.006

The erector spinae plane block for analgesia after lumbar spine surgery: A systematic review

J Orthop. 2021 Feb 18:24:145-150. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2021.02.006. eCollection 2021 Mar-Apr.

Authors

James M Rizkalla^{1

2}, Brendan Holderread³, Matthew Awad^{2

4}, Andro Botros², Ishaq Y Syed¹

Affiliations

¹ Baylor University Medical Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Dallas, TX, USA.
² Coptic Medical Association of North America (CMANA) Research Institute, USA.
³ Texas A&M College of Medicine, Dallas, TX, USA.
⁴ Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the available evidence for the utility of Erector Spinae Plane blocks (ESPB) after Lumbar surgery.

Methods: Databases were searched until December 20, 2020. ESPB was utilized as a MesH term and terms such as: lumbar spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, decompression and lumbar spine surgery.

Results: Studies demonstrate that ESPB are consistently found to be a safe and effective method of analgesia after lumbar surgery, with limited adverse effects.

Conclusion: ESPB appear to be an effective method to relieve pain after lumbar surgery. More RCTs will be needed to further investigate the clinical effectiveness of this intervention.

Keywords: Analgesia; Erector spinae plane block; Lumbar surgery; Opioids; Pain relief; Spine.

Publication types

Review