Cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia
Pecto-intercostal fascial plane block with or without rectus sheath block in cardiac surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study
Authors' conclusion
Adding bilateral RSB to bilateral PIFB did not improve pain control or other outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing cardiac surgery with median sternotomy and subxiphoid chest tubes
- Participants
- 62 patients
- Comparison
- Bupivacaine vs Placebo
- Primary endpoint
- Pain at rest and with deep breathing
- Follow-up
- First 24 hours after surgery
Methodological detailssingle-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled
- Single-centre
- Double-blind
- Placebo-controlled
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
first 24 hours
Placebo
93.37
mean · SD 41.38
Bupivacaine
86.11
mean · SD 42.78
Bupivacaine vs Placebo: P = 0.51 · Bupivacaine vs Placebo: P = 0.57
Secondary outcomes
Mean
| Outcome | Bupivacaine | Placebo | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pain with deep breathing (AUC) · first 24 hoursPart of primary outcome | 128.78 (SD 47.08) | 135.55 (SD 43.74) | P = 0.57 |
Opioid consumption at 24 and 48 h, incentive spirometry, time to extubation, hospital and ICU LOS, QoR-15
- No differences between groups
Original publication
Pecto-intercostal fascial plane block with or without rectus sheath block in cardiac surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study. Reg Anesth Pain Med. Published 21 September 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →