Continuous Pecto-Intercostal Fascial Block Provides Effective Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Open Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background The optimal analgesia regimen after open cardiac surgery has been unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of continuous pecto-intercostal fascial blocks (PIFB) initiated before surgery on outcomes after open cardiac surgery. Methods A group of 116 patients were randomly allocated to receive either bilateral continuous PIFB (PIF group) or the same block with saline (SAL group). The primary endpoint was postoperative pain at 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, and 72 hours after extubation at rest and during exercise. The secondary outcome measures included analgesia requirements (sufentanil and flurbiprofen consumption), time to extubation, length of stay in the intensive care unit, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, time until return of bowel function, time to mobilization, time to urinary catheter removal, and the length of hospital stay. Results The length of stay in the intensive care unit (29 ± 7 hours vs 13 ± 4 hours, P Conclusion Bilateral continuous PIFB reduced the length of hospital stay and provided effective postoperative pain relief for 3 days.