Overview

Blunt chest trauma is commonly associated with rib fractures and early pain management is a key goal after chest trauma. In spontaneous breathing patients, pain limits coughing efficiency and secretion clearance, thereby potentially leading to progressive atelectasis, loss of functional residual capacity (FRC) and, ultimately, respiratory distress. In patients under mechanical ventilation, pain interacts with the weaning of mechanical ventilation inducing an increase of the duration of invasive ventilation. According to recent French guidelines for chest trauma management, immediate analgesia is initially performed by intravenous multimodal analgesia followed by a thoracic epidural analgesia or a paravertebral block if the pain is not controlled within the first 12 hours. However, these blocks necessitate an experienced anaesthesiologist, are at risk of severe complications and are contraindicated in case of post-traumatic coagulopathy. All these considerations limit their indication in the trauma bay. The erector spinae plane (ESP) block is an easy to perform, ultrasound guided, regional anaesthesia for pain management after thoracic surgery. This block can be made continuously with a dedicated catheter for a continuous infusion of local anaesthetic drug with boli. The ESP block is performed by depositing the local anaesthetic in the fascial plane, deeper than the erector spinae muscle at the tip of the transverse process of the vertebra. This block is less invasive with fewer contraindications as compared to epidural analgesia or paravertebral blocks. After chest trauma, ESP block was associated with an improvement in respiratory capacity in a retrospective study. However, there is no randomised control trial assessing ESP efficacy. Our hypothesis is that early continuous ESP block in the trauma bay decreases the number of days with invasive and/or non-invasive ventilation after chest trauma.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

Age > 18 years

Blunt chest trauma with 3 or more rib fractures on Thoracic CT scan

With spontaneous breathing or under mechanical ventilation in the trauma bay

Requiring an intensive (or intermediate) care unit admission

Exclusion Criteria:

Pre-hospital cardiac arrest

Patient not expected to survive within the first 72 hours

        Uncontrolled haemodynamic instability despite initial resuscitation (systolic arterial
        blood pressure lower than 90 mmHg at the time of catheter insertion)
        Mechanical ventilation for severe traumatic brain injury (Abbreviated Injury Score, AIS,
        head > 2)
        Spinal cord injury at the cervical or thoracic levels
        Hypovolaemia.
        Hypersensitivity to ropivacaine or other amide-bound local anaesthetics
        Subject in exclusion period of another interventional study
        Pregnant, breastfeeding women