Preoperative Paravertebral Block and Chronic Pain after Breast Cancer Surgery: A Double-blind Randomized Trial

ConclusionsParavertebral block did not reduce the incidence of chronic pain after breast surgery. Paravertebral block did result in less immediate postoperative pain, but there were no other significant differences in postoperative outcomes.Editor ’s PerspectiveWhat We Already Know about This TopicChronic pain after breast surgery is common, both causing suffering and limiting function.Previous studies suggest that paravertebral blocks may prevent chronic pain after breast surgery, but the data are limited.What This Article Tells Us That Is NewMore than 350 study participants undergoing mastectomy were randomized to either paravertebral blocks with ropivacaine or saline injections. Both groups received multimodal analgesia.Although paravertebral block using ropivacaine had a small analgesic effect in the immediate postoperative period, no differences in pain 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery were detected.
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research