ASPB-PIPB Combination in Cardiac Surgery

Overview

Cardiopulmonary bypass surgery is associated with significant postoperative pain, which may adversely affect respiratory function, delay mobilization, prolong hospital stay, and increase postoperative complications. Within Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols, multimodal analgesia and opioid-sparing strategies have become essential components of perioperative care. Ultrasound-guided fascial plane blocks, including the anterior serratus plane block (ASPB) and pectoral-intercostal plane block (PIPB), have emerged as effective and safe regional anesthesia techniques for cardiac surgery, targeting different sensory innervation of the thoracic wall. However, evidence regarding the combined use of these two blocks remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate whether the combination of ASPB and PIPB improves intraoperative and postoperative analgesia, reduces opioid consumption, and enhances postoperative recovery and ERAS outcomes compared with standard analgesic management in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Cardiac surgery performed with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with substantial perioperative nociceptive stimulation originating from median sternotomy, chest tube placement, internal mammary artery harvesting, and extensive mediastinal tissue manipulation. Despite advances in surgical techniques and perioperative care, postoperative pain remains a major challenge following cardiac surgery. Inadequately controlled pain contributes to impaired respiratory mechanics, ineffective coughing, reduced pulmonary function, delayed mobilization, prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, and an increased incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications. Furthermore, excessive perioperative opioid administration may lead to respiratory depression, postoperative nausea and vomiting, ileus, delirium, and delayed recovery, highlighting the need for effective opioid-sparing analgesic strategies. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have increasingly been adopted in cardiac surgery with the aim of reducing perioperative stress, minimizing complications, and accelerating functional recovery. Contemporary ERAS guidelines emphasize multimodal analgesia as a cornerstone of perioperative management, integrating regional anesthesia techniques with non-opioid systemic analgesics to reduce opioid consumption while improving pain control. Ultrasound-guided fascial plane blocks have gained considerable popularity because they are technically straightforward, provide effective thoracic analgesia, and have a favorable safety profile compared with neuraxial techniques in anticoagulated cardiac surgical patients. Among these techniques, the anterior serratus plane block (ASPB) effectively anesthetizes the lateral thoracic wall by blocking the lateral cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerves, whereas the pectoral-intercostal plane block (PIPB) primarily targets the anterior cutaneous branches responsible for pain arising from median sternotomy. Given their complementary anatomical distributions, combining ASPB and PIPB may provide more comprehensive analgesic coverage of both the anterior and lateral thoracic walls. Although both ASPB and PIPB have individually demonstrated promising analgesic efficacy in cardiac surgery, evidence regarding the combined use of these two fascial plane blocks remains limited. Whether the addition of ASPB to PIPB results in superior perioperative analgesia, reduced opioid requirements, improved postoperative recovery, and enhanced compliance with ERAS pathways has not yet been clearly established. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the effects of combined anterior serratus plane block and pectoral-intercostal plane block with standard analgesic management on intraoperative opioid consumption, postoperative pain scores, postoperative analgesic requirements, recovery parameters, and ERAS-related outcomes in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.