Background: Articaine has been used as a local anesthetic
for dental procedures, but studies about articaine used as
a
local anesthetic for regional block after thoracic
surgeries are limited.
Aim of the Study: Our study compares the postoperative
analgesic efficacy of articaine 2% and bupivacaine 0.25%
through erector spinae block for after thoracic surgeries.
Patients and Methods: All patients were divided into two
groups. Group I [20 patients] [erector spinae block with
bupivacine 0.25%] was performed before extubation with
an injection of 30 ml of 0.25% bupivacine. Group II [20
patients] [erector spinae block with articaine 2%] was
performed before extubation with an injection of 30 ml of
articaine 2%.
Results: As regard the visual analogue scale at 8 h and 12 h,
postoperatively, there was significant variance among the 2
groups [p value=0.045, p value=0.002]. Also, with regard to
first-rescue analgesia and the total dose of morphine, there
was significant variance among the 2 groups [p
value=0.006, p value=0.02].
Conclusion: Articaine is a reliable local anesthetic agent
when compared to bupivacaine for regional block after
thoracic surgeries.