The analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block in pulmonary tumor ablation surgery: a prospective single-arm study.

BACKGROUND

Local thermal ablation is a rapidly developing minimally invasive treatment for lung tumors. This technique has the advantages of less trauma, ease and convenience of the operation, fast recovery, and fewer complications. Thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) has been demonstrated can provide sufficient pain relief with high safety. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of TPVB for anesthesia management during the ablation surgery of lung tumors.

METHODS

In our study, a total of 30 patients undergoing Local thermal ablation surgery were enrolled. All patients received TPVB anesthesia before CT positioning starting. Analgesics and rescue drugs were used according to the patient's condition during operation. The main observation and assessment outcome were intraoperative and postoperative Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score. Other outcomes were total dose of analgesics and rescue drugs, incidences of adverse events, and the patients' and surgeons' satisfaction degrees.

RESULTS

All patients successfully received ablation surgery under TPVB anesthesia. None of the patients were switched to general anesthesia. There were no statistically differences were found between the preoperative VAS score (0.54±1.12) and the intraoperative VAS score (0.58±1.15) (P>0.05). No adverse events occurred and no rescue drugs were used during operation. The satisfaction scale of both patients and surgeons was 3 points or above, and all patients were discharged from the hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

TPVB is an effective and safe anesthesia management technique which can provided adequate pain relief in local thermal ablation therapy for lung tumors. This discovery could provide a better anesthesia protocol for anesthetists in lung tumors ablation surgery, especially when patients have a poor cardiopulmonary function and combined with serious underlying diseases.