Erector spinae plane block in acute interventional pain management: a systematic review

Erector Spinae Plane Block (ESPB) was described by Forero in 2016. ESPB is currently widely used in acute postoperative pain management. The benefits of ESPB include simplicity and efficacy in various surgeries. The aim of this review was to conduct a comprehensive overview of available evidence on erector spinae plane block in clinical practice. We included randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews reporting the ESPB in human subjects. The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Twenty-one articles including five systematic reviews and 16 randomized controlled trials were included and analyzed. ESPB appears to be an effective, safe, and simple method for acute pain management in cardiac, thoracic, and abdominal surgery. The incidence of side effects has been reported to be rare. A critical issue is to make sure that new evidence is not just of the highest quality, in form of well powered and designed randomized controlled trials but also including a standardized and homogeneous set of indicators that permit to assess the comparative effectiveness of the application of ESPB in acute interventional pain management.