• Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim · Nov 2018

    Erector spinae plane block: A cadaver study to determine its mechanism of action.

    • E Vidal, H Giménez, M Forero, and M Fajardo.
    • Servicio de Anestesiología, Hospital Durand, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: vidalezequiel@gmail.com.
    • Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim. 2018 Nov 1; 65 (9): 514-519.

    IntroductionThe erector spinae plane (ESP) block is a novel technique for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Its mechanism and site of action has not yet been explained properly.ObjectivesIn order to explain the mechanism of action of the ESP block, injections were performed with methylene blue to simulate the local anaesthetics and to determine its distribution from the anterior side of the thorax. To find an aperture or channel through which the local anaesthetic passes from posterior to anterior through the muscular and bone structures.Materials And MethodsFour spinal columns of fresh cryopreserved corpses were used. A total of 9 ultrasound-guided ESP blocks were performed in different regions of the specimens using 20ml of 0.01% methylene blue per block. The distribution of the dye was observed from the anterior side of the thorax, measuring the amount of intercostal spaces stained, before and after the removal of the parietal pleura, and the structures in which the stain was found were recorded.ResultsIn all blocks of the ESP, dye was found in the paravertebral space, intercostal spaces, and in some cases in the prevertebral chain. The blocks had a mean of 4.6 intercostal spaces stained, with a maximum of 7 and a minimum of 3. The intensity of the dye was greater on the side of the injection, dorsal to the column, than that found in the ventral part below of the pleura. It was not possible to verify a clear channel through which the dye diffuses towards the previous zone.ConclusionsFrom the data collected in this study, it can be deduced that the blockade of the ESP has a mechanism of anaesthetic action similar to paravertebral blocks. The site from which the anaesthetic would cross from the posterior plane of the spine to the anterior region of the thorax was not clear, and should be investigated in future works.Copyright © 2018 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…