Multicenter longitudinal cross-sectional study comparing effectiveness of serratus anterior plane, paravertebral and thoracic epidural for the analgesia of multiple rib fractures.

Background: There is a paucity of data comparing effectiveness of various techniques for pain management of traumatic rib fractures. This study compared the quality of analgesia provided by serratus anterior plane (SAP) catheters against thoracic epidural (TEA) or paravertebral catheters (PA) in patients with multiple traumatic rib fractures (MRFs).

Methods: 354 patients who received either SAP, TEA or PA at two tertiary referral major trauma centers in the UK were included (2016-2018).