The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) in the management of chronic thoracic pain. Correlation of pain/analgesia areas and long term effect of the treatment in three cases.

The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a technique that is used both as perioperative analgesia and in the management of chronic pain. This has been described recently and is being a resource increasingly used for its easy implementation and low rate of complications. However, the correlation between pain and analgesia, as well as its long-term effect on chronic pain, should be studied. We present a series of 3 cases in which the effectiveness of the ESPB in patients with chronic chest pain was evaluated. The block was performed in all cases by depositing 20ml of 0.2% Ropivacaine in the fascial plane of the erector spinae muscle. The pain was measured using a numerical scale prior to the block, at 30minutes and a month. The areas were marked on the skin with different colours for comparison.