Erector spinae plane block as a potential analgesic option in acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Pain management in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) is mostly dominated by intravenous opioids. Besides their side effects, opioids also prolong the intensive care unit stay of the patient. The ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is an established intervention for postoperative analgesia. It is now also being studied for providing pain relief in AP. A lower thoracic ESPB targets sympathetic nerve fibers in addition to the dorsal and ventral rami through local anesthetic spread to the paravertebral space to provide both visceral and somatic analgesia. It could be an effective adjuvant as a part of multimodal analgesia and may significantly reduce overall opioid usage. We describe a case of AP where significant pain relief was achieved after administering a single-shot ESPB.