Comparison of dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone as adjuvant for ropivacaine in ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block for video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has been widely used to treat lung cancer, since it is minimally invasive, more effectively reduces postoperative pain and complications than open thoracotomy, and shortens operation time and hospital stay (1). However, postoperative pain management, particularly early postoperative pain, remains a matter of concern for several anesthesiologists and thoracic surgeons (2). Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is an interfascial plane block that successfully deposits a local anesthetic deep into the erector spinae muscle that lies adjacent to transverse processes. Emerging research demonstrated that ESPB can be employed as a simple and safe alternative analgesic technique to address acute post-surgical, post-traumatic, and chronic neuropathic thoracic pain in adults (3) and children (4,5). Fortunately, its efficacy to ameliorate incisional pain has already been confirmed in clinical studies (6,7)