Erector Spinae Plane Block Provides Significant Pain Relief for Patients with Acute Pancreatitis

Newswise — Acute pancreatitis, inflammation of pancreatic tissue most commonly caused by alcohol and gallstones, presents as severe abdominal pain that radiates to a person’s back. It occurs in up to 80 per 100,000 people annually worldwide, with almost half of patients experiencing recurrent episodes. Traditionally, the pain from acute pancreatitis is managed primarily with opioids. However, opioid addiction in the United States is a public health crisis and patients with acute pancreatitis require high doses of opioids, often without satisfactory pain control. Therefore, a team led by Joseph Liao, MD, an anesthesiology resident physician at the University of Texas­–Houston, used a novel approach to alleviate pain by performing erector spinae plane (ESP) blocks, with the goal of decreasing patients’ opioid intake.

Joseph Liao, Sudipta Sen, Joseph Liao, Gabrielle Santiago, Johanna Blair DeHaan, and Nadia Hernandez of McGovern Medical School at University of Texas Health, Houston, TX, received a Resident/Fellow Travel Award from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) for its 46th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting, being held May 13-15, 2021. The authors will present Abstract #2058, “Erector Spinae Plane Block for Management of Acute on Chronic Pancreatitis Pain,” on Friday, May 14.

ESP blocks are ultrasound-guided nerve blocks in which local anesthetics and steroids are injected along a protective layer surrounding the muscles that support the spine. The medications spread to nerve roots and spaces surrounding the spine to achieve numbing effects. In Liao et al.’s study, every patient with acute pancreatitis who received ESP blocks had superior pain control and decreased opioid intake.

“This translated to a faster recovery and increased comfort,” Liao said. “In our presentation, we will dive deeper into why we believe ESP blocks provided excellent pain control and how we instituted a protocol to optimize our patients' care using ESP blocks. Our Regional and Acute Pain Medicine team at University of Texas-Houston is truly excited to share our findings."