Assessment of Analgesic Efficacy of Bilateral Superficial Cervical Plexus Block for Thyroid Surgeries under General Anaesthesia: A Routine Data Based Observational Study

Abstract

Context: Thyroid surgeries done under general anaesthesia use intravenous (iv) drugs as analgesics. A simple superficial cervical plexus block can reduce dose of iv analgesics and provide excellent analgesia. This study evaluated the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound guided Bilateral Superficial Cervical Plexus Block (BSCPB) in thyroidectomies and its opioid sparing effect. Aim: Evaluation of analgesic efficacy of BSCPB and its opioid sparing effect in thyroidectomies. Settings and Design: Routine data based observational study conducted during March 2017 to January 2018 in a tertiary cancer institute in South India. Materials and methods: The study involved fifty adult ASA I and II patients who received BSCPB with 0.5% ropivacaine 10 ml for thyroidectomies along with general anaesthesia and fifty patients without BSCPB from routine database. Postoperative pain scores for 24 hours were compared and reduction in opioid requirement in BSCPB group was analysed. Statistical analysis: Statistical analysis was done using Statistical package for social sciences package 11 software (SPSS Inc, Chicago). Quantitative data was analysed with Student’s t test and categorical data with chi-square test. Friedman two-way ANOVA was used to test significance of pain at different times in BSCPB group. Mann Whitney U test was used to compare pain score between the two groups. Results: There was statistically significant reduction in postoperative pain in the BSCPB group (p=0.0001). The total opioid requirement showed a statistically significant reduction in the BSCPB group (mean ± SD 2.6 ± 2 vs. 6.6 ± 1). Conclusion: BSCPB provides excellent analgesia with a reduction in opioid consumption following thyroidectomies.