ArticleCureus2025
Catheter-Based Regional Anesthetic Techniques for Comprehensive Pain Management and Early Mobilization After Cardiac Sternotomy: A Report of Two Cases.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Efficacy of ultrasound-guided recto-intercostal fascial plane block for postoperative analgesia in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a randomized controlled trial.Surgical endoscopy · 2026Trial
- Continuous Re-MTAPA Block via SEDIC Catheter Placement: A Novel Analgesia Technique in Two Complex Surgical Cases.Cureus · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Post-sternotomy pain management following cardiac surgery remains challenging, with both sternal incision and drain site pain requiring effective control. As highlighted recently, regional anesthetic techniques targeting the anterior cutaneous branches of the thoracic intercostal nerves offer promising solutions for comprehensive pain control while reducing opioid requirements. We present two patients who underwent cardiac surgery via sternotomy, with post-operative pain managed using different catheter-based regional anesthetic techniques. The first patient received bilateral deep parasternal intercostal plane block (DPIPB) catheters, while the second received a combination of a superficial parasternal intercostal plane block (SPIPB) and rectointercostal fascial plane block (RIFPB) with catheter placement. Both techniques demonstrated efficacy in managing post-sternotomy pain in our patients. The scheduled intermittent 0.25% levobupivacaine boluses provided analgesia that coincided with the patients' early mobilization activities, potentially contributing to their rehabilitation progress. The first patient achieved good pain control with DPIPB catheters when combined with oral analgesics, while the second patient, who received SPIPB as a single-shot block and RIFPB with indwelling catheters, achieved comprehensive pain control without requiring supplemental medications. Both cases highlight the importance of addressing epigastric drain site pain, which often presents significant challenges in post-sternotomy pain management. These catheter-based techniques provide extended, adaptable analgesia during the critical early mobilization period after cardiac surgery, balancing effective pain control with safety considerations. Further research is needed to compare these different approaches systematically and identify optimal strategies for diverse cardiac surgical procedures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.