Erector spinae plane block, Thoracic epidural anesthesia, Video-assisted thoracic surgery, Opioid consumption, Postoperative rehabilitation, Anesthesiology, RD78.3-87.3

Abstract Background This study aimed to determine whether ultrasound-guided continuous erector spinae plane block (ESPB) had an effect on opioid consumption and postoperative rehabilitation in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Methods In this prospective study, 120 patients aged 20–70 years who underwent elective VATS were randomly allocated to one of three groups: group C (general anesthesia with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia [PCIA]), group T (general anesthesia with patient-controlled epidural analgesia [PCEA]), or group E (general anesthesia with continuous ESPB and PCIA). Perioperative opioid consumption, visual analog scale (VAS) scores, preoperative and postoperative Quality of Recovery-15 scores, and postoperative opioid-related adverse events were all assessed. Results Intraoperative sufentanil consumption in groups T and E was significantly lower than that in group C (both P