Serratus Posterior Superior Plane Block in Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery

Brief Summary

This prospective randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block (SPSIPB) as a component of a multimodal analgesia strategy for postoperative pain control, opioid consumption, and hemodynamic response in patients undergoing mini-thoracotomy cardiac surgery. The study was planned to include a total of 60 patients, with 30 patients in each group. Patients with ASA physical status I-III scheduled for elective mini-thoracotomy cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement, atrial septal defect closure, or beating-heart bypass) will be randomized to the SPSIPB group or a control group receiving standard analgesic management without any regional block. The primary outcome is the resting Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain score at 1 hour postoperatively. Secondary outcomes include resting and movement (passive shoulder flexion) NRS pain scores at 1, 4, 8, 16, and 24 hours, cumulative 24-hour tramadol consumption, proportion of patients requiring rescue analgesia, intraoperative remifentanil consumption, systolic blood pressure change at incision, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), patient satisfaction (5-point Likert scale), time to extubation, and intensive care unit length of stay.