Rectus sheath block added to parasternal block may improve postoperative pain control and respiratory performance after cardiac surgery: a superiority single-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial

The population undergoing cardiac surgery confronts challenges from uncontrolled post-sternotomy pain, with possible adverse effects on outcome. While the parasternal block can improve analgesia, its coverage may be insufficient to cover epigastric area. In this non-blinded randomized controlled study, we evaluated the analgesic and respiratory effect of adding a rectus sheath block to a parasternal block.