ESP block effectively alleviates acute renal colic pain: Study

Turkey: Erector spinae plane (ESP) block can be considered as a safe and efficient method for the management of acute renal colic pain, reducing the use of opioids and NSAID, finds a recent study in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

The pain of a passing kidney stone can be excruciating. A mixture of NSAIDs and opioids have been used for the treatment of renal colic pain. Therefore, this condition has ben identified as a contributor to opioid overuse and as a risk factor for chronic narcotic dependence. In the present scenario when we are moving towards alternative pain management strategies ultrasound‐guided plane blocks are being used increasingly in the multi‐modal analgesic concept for reducing opioid use.

Ali Ahiskalioglu, Ataturk University School of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey, and colleagues aimed to compare the analgesic effect of intravenous non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and ESP block in renal colic patients in a prospective randomised study.

The study included 40 patients with renal colic pain. They were randomly assigned into two groups -- Group NSAID (n = 20) received an intravenous infusion of 50 mg of dexketoprofen trometamol and Group ESP (n = 20) received ultrasound‐guided ESP block with 30 ml 0.25% bupivacaine at the T8 level.

The pain severity of patients was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline, 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes after intervention. Opioid consumption, patient satisfaction and side effects were recorded. 

"ESP block can be an alternative, efficient and safe method for the relief of acute renal colic pain," wrote the authors. 

Reference:

The study titled, "Erector spinae plane block vs non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for severe renal colic pain: A pilot clinical feasibility study," is published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

DOI: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijcp.13789