Efficacy of Ice Compress Combined With Serratus Anterior Plane Block in Analgesia After Thoracoscopic Pneumonectomy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Purpose: To explore the analgesic effect of the ice pack combined with serratus anterior plane block after thoracoscopic pulmonary resection. Design: A randomized controlled trial design. Methods: This prospective randomized controlled trial recruited patients who underwent thoracoscopic pneumonectomy in a grade A tertiary hospital from October 2021 to March 2022. The patients were randomly divided into the control group, the serratus anterior plane block group, the ice pack group, and the ice pack combined with serratus anterior plane block group. The analgesic effect was evaluated by collecting the postoperative visual analog score. Findings: A total of 133 patients agreed to participate in this study, of which 120 patients were eventually included (n = 30/group). The primary outcome was that the pain in SAP block group, ice pack group, and ice pack combined with SAP block group decreased significantly within 24 hours compared with the control group (P < .05). Also, significant differences were noted in other secondary outcomes, such as Prince-Henry pain score within 12 hours, 15-item quality of recovery (QoR-15) score within 24 hours, and fever times within 24 hours. No significant difference was detected in the C-reactive protein value, white blood cell count, and the use of additional analgesics within 24 hours postoperatively (P > .05). Conclusions: For patients after thoracoscopic pneumonectomy, ice pack, serratus anterior plane block, and ice pack combined with serratus anterior plane block produce better postoperative analgesic effects than intra-venous analgesia. The combined group exhibited the best outcomes. (c) 2023 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.