Ultrasound-Guided Erectro Spinae Plane Block Versus Stellate Ganglion Block for Patients With Upper Limb Acute Herpes Zoster Pain.

Ultrasound-Guided Erectro Spinae Plane Block Versus Stellate Ganglion Block for Patients With Upper Limb Acute Herpes Zoster Pain: Randomized Controlled Study

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a painful, eruptive, viral condition results from reactivation of the latent varicella zoster virus after the primary infection. The selection of an effective analgesic method in the acute phase of herpes zoster can decrease the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by reducing neural sensitization. The stellate ganglion is present in 80% of the general population and is composed of the inferior cervical ganglion and the first thoracic ganglion fusion. It lies anterior to the neck of the first rib and extends to the inferior aspect of the transverse process of C7. The erector spinae plane (ESP) block has been reported to provide diffuse and effective analgesia in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions.

Especially for elderly patients, when cell-mediated immunity wanes, common symptoms of HZ appear, primarily as pain in a dermatomal distribution with a burning, sharp pain sensation (paresthesia) and itching, in addition to development of a vesicular rash. The selection of an effective analgesic method in the acute phase of herpes zoster can decrease the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by reducing neural sensitization. The sympathetic fibers for the head, neck, heart, and upper limbs arise from the first thoracic segments, ascend through the sympathetic chain, and synapse in the superior, middle, and inferior cervical ganglions. The stellate ganglion is present in 80% of the general population and is composed of the inferior cervical ganglion and the first thoracic ganglion fusion. It lies anterior to the neck of the first rib and extends to the inferior aspect of the transverse process of C7. The erector spinae plane (ESP) block has been reported to provide diffuse and effective analgesia in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients over the age of 21 with upper limb herpetic eruption lasting shorter than a week along with moderate to severe pain who got adequate antiviral medications

Exclusion Criteria:

• We will exclude patients who refuse to participate, those who are taking anticoagulant medications, have secondary bacterial infections of the dermatome, those who have an allergy to local anesthetics or serious disease of the heart ( e.g. heart block), lung, kidneys and those who had a history of neck surgery, such as thyroid cancer.