THE ROLE OF PARAVERTEBRAL BLOCKS IN AMBULATORY SURGERY: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

• Published in: Acta clinica Croatica (Tisak) Vol. 58; no. Suppl 1; pp. 43 - 47
• Main Authors: Zupcic, Miroslav, Dedic, David, Zupcic, Sandra Graf, Duzel, Viktor, Simurina, Tatjana, Sakic, Livija, Grubjesic, Igor, Sutic, Ingrid, Sutic, Ivana, Korusic, Andjelko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Croatia Klinicki bolnicki centar Sestre milosrdnice 01.07.2019; Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital and Institute of Clinical Medical Research, Vinogradska cesta c. 29 Zagreb
• Subjects: Ambulatory Surgical Procedures - adverse effects; Analgesia; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Analysis; Anesthesia; Anesthetics; Central nervous system agents; Health aspects; Humans; Nerve Block - methods; Pain Management; Pain, Postoperative - etiology; Pain, Postoperative - prevention & control; Postoperative pain; Reviews; Spinal Nerves; Surgery; Surgical clinics; Croatia; nerve blocks; paravertebral; local anesthetics; breast surgery; regional anesthesia; ambulatory surgery
• ISSN: 0353-9466; 1333-9451
• DOI: 10.20471/acc.2019.58.s1.06

Ambulatory surgery often involves surgical procedures on the thorax, abdomen and limbs, which can be associated with substantial postoperative pain. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an analysis of the effectiveness of paravertebral block (PVB) alone or in combination with general anaesthesia, in this setting, with an emphasis on satisfactory postoperative analgesia in comparison to other modalities. We have conducted a search of current medical literature written in English through PubMed, Google Scholar and Ovid Medline®. Peer-reviewed professional articles, review articles, retrospective and prospective studies, case reports and case series were systematically searched for during the time period between November 2003 and February 2019. The literature used for the purpose of creating this review showed that utilisation of paravertebral block either alone or in combination with general anaesthesia, has a positive effect on satisfactory analgesia in ambulatory surgery. With a multimodal analgesic approach of PVB and other techniques of anaesthesia and analgesia there is a reduction in postoperative opioid consumption, fewer side effects, lower pain scores, decreased mortality, earlier mobilisation of patients and reduced hospital stay.