ASPB-PIPB Combination in Cardiac 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.

• Intraoperative fentanyl consumption [Time frame: From induction of anesthesia until the end of surgery.]
• Postoperative tramadol consumption [Time frame: During the first 24 hours after surgery.]
• Time to extubation [Time frame: From the end of surgery until extubation, assessed up to 7 days after surgery.]
• Intensive care unit length of stay [Time frame: From postoperative intensive care unit admission until intensive care unit discharge, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]
• Hospital length of stay [Time frame: From the date of surgery until hospital discharge, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]
• Incidence of postoperative cardiac arrhythmias [Time frame: From the end of surgery until hospital discharge, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]
• Incidence of block-related complications [Time frame: From block administration until hospital discharge, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]
• Incidence of postoperative surgical complications [Time frame: From the end of surgery until hospital discharge, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]
• Time to thoracic drain removal [Time frame: From the end of surgery until removal of all thoracic drains, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]
• Time to urinary catheter removal [Time frame: From the end of surgery until urinary catheter removal, assessed up to 30 days after surgery.]