Erector Spinae Plane Block for Post-thoracotomy Pain

Post-thoracotomy pain is one of the most severe forms of post-operative pain. Among the most common techniques for the management of post-thoracotomy pain, there are the intercostal nerve block, and a recently described block, the erector spinae plane block (ESP).To date, there are no studies that compare the efficacy of ESP block with other pain relief methods in acute post-thoracotomy pain. The objective of this randomized study is to compare the analgesic efficacy of these two techniques in the control of acute post-thoracotomy chest pain, block of erector spinae vs intrapleural intercostal block.