Comparison of the Analgesic Effects of Continuous Versus Single-Shot Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block in Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

Comparison of the Analgesic Effects of Continuous Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block With Catheter Versus Single-Shot Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block in Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

Patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery often experience moderate to severe postoperative pain. Various medical treatments are employed to provide analgesia for these patients. The advancement of regional anesthesia techniques has made possible to both reduce the use of narcotic analgesics and provide long-term pain management benefits.

The Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block (SPSIPB) was first described in 2023 by Serkan Tulgar et al. Cadaveric studies and dermatomal analyses in patients have demonstrated its ability to provide analgesia in the back, neck, shoulder, axilla, and lateral thoracic regions.

Even though patients undergoing shoulder surgery benefit from the block; once the duration of a single-shot block wears off, they may experience severe pain again. The aim of this study is to investigate the analgesic effects of a single-shot SPSIPB compared to continuous infusion provided by placing a catheter in this region.

The hypothesis of this study: In arthroscopic shoulder surgery, the continuous application of the serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block using a catheter will result in lower pain scores, reduced opioid consumption, and improved patient satisfaction compared to single-shot application.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block (single-shot); Other: Serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block (catheter)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 90
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Goztepe Suleyman Yalcin City Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged between 18-80 years
• No bleeding diathesis
• Classified as ASA I-II-III

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who do not provide consent
• Patients with coagulopathy
• History of allergy or intoxication to local anesthetic agents
• Patients with advanced organ failure
• History of neuropathic disease
• Patients with mental retardation
• Presence of infection at the injection site
• Conditions in which regional anesthesia is contraindicated
• Pediatric patients and those over 80 years of age
• Pregnant patients

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Group 1: This patient group will not undergo any regional block
Active Comparator: Group 2: Patients who will receive a single-shot serratus posterior superior plane block	Other: Serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block (single-shot); 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine will be injected as single-shot block 20 mins prior to surgery
Active Comparator: Group 3: Patients who will receive a continuous SPSIB with catheter	Other: Serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block (catheter); In addition to administration of 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine prior to surgery, a catheter will be placed in the area to administer bolus of 1 mg/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine every 8 hours postoperatively.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Postoperative Opioid Consumption	Patient-Controlled Analgesia (Tramadol)	Postoperative 24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Satisfaction (Likert scale)		Post surgery 24 hours
Postoperative Pain Scores	Tha pain will be assessed with Numeric Rating Scale at 0, 30 minutes, 1, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours.	Postoperative 24 hours
Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Scale		24 hours
Perioperative Remifentanyl Consumption		Perioperative assessment
Use of Rescue Analgesics in the Ward		24 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Goztepe Prof Dr Suleyman Yalcın City Hospital
• Investigators: Study Director: Senem Koruk, Goztepe Prof Dr Suleyman Yalcın City Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 15, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): October 10, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 10, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 10, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 14, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 2, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 28, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: postoperative pain; regional anesthesia; shoulder arthroscopy; serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block; plane block
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Postoperative Complications; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain, Postoperative; Equipment and Supplies; Catheters
• Other Study ID Numbers: AOSPS001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No