• Sossio Serra, Domenico Pietro Santonastaso, Giuseppe Romano, Alessandro Riccardi, Stefano Geniere Nigra, Emanuele Russo, Mario Angelini, Vanni Agnoletti, Mario Guarino, Claudia Sara Cimmino, Michele Domenico Spampinato, Raffella Francesconi, and IacoFabio DeFDepartment of Translational Medicine and for Romagna, University of Ferrara, Via A. Moro 8, Ferrara, 44124, Italy..
• Emergency Department, Maurizio Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, 47521, Italy.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2024 Jul 17.

PurposeChest trauma is a severe and frequent cause of admission to the emergency department (ED). The serratus anterior plane (SAP) block seems to be an effective method of pain management; however, data on efficacy and safety of a single SAP block performed in the ED by emergency physicians (EP) are limited. This study aimed to compare SAP block performed by the EP in the ED plus standard therapy to standard therapy alone in terms of pain severity at 0-3-6-12-18 and 24 h, total opioid consumption (milligrams of morphine equivalents, MME), respiratory function (SpO2/FiO2 ratio), and adverse events (i.e. pneumothorax, infections in the site of injection, or Local Anaesthetic Systemic Toxicity syndrome due to SAP block) in the first 24 h.MethodsThis retrospective, monocentric study included adult patients admitted to the Sub-intensive Care Unit (SICU) of the ED with multiple rib fractures between 01/2022 and 03/2023.Results156 patients (65.4% male; median age 62 years; median injury severity score 16; median thoracic trauma severity score 8) were included. 75 (48.2%) underwent SAP block. Patients undergoing SAP block showed significantly less pain 3-6-18 h after a single block, required less MME (0 [0-20] vs. 20 [0-40], p < 0.001), showed higher SpO2/FiO2 ratio, and no adverse events were reported.ConclusionThe SAP block, in combination with standard therapy, appeared to be more effective in providing pain relief than standard therapy alone in patients admitted to the SICU for traumatic rib fractures.© 2024. The Author(s).

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