摘要Objective:To investigate whether continuous erector spinae plane block(ESPB)improves the quality of recovery(QoR)and decreases postoperative acute and chronic pain in patients undergoing minimally invasive cardiac surgery.Methods:This was a single-center,double-blind,prospective,randomized,placebo-controlled trial.A total of 120 patients were randomized to groups at a 1∶1 ratio.They received general anaesthesia and an ESP catheter(ropivacaine or normal saline)before surgery,and received patient-controlled intravenous analgesia with sufentanil and continuous ESPB with a pulse injection of 8 mL(ropivacaine or normal saline)per h after 20 mL of the experimental drug was administered at the end of surgery.The primary outcome was the 15-item quality of recovery scale(QoR-15)score at 24 h after surgery.The secondary outcomes included the severity of pain,sufentanil consumption,incidence of rescue analgesia,and proportion of patients with chronic pain.Results:The QoR-15 score was greater in the ESPB group than in the control group at 24 h after surgery[112(108-118)vs.109(101-114),P=0.023].ESPB was associated with a lower cough visual analogue scale(VAS)score(44 vs.47,P=0.001),resting VAS score(28 vs.35.5,P=0.003),sufentanil consumption(104.8 μg vs.145.5 μg,P=).000),and incidence of rescue analgesia(20.0％vs.43.3％,P=0.006).Conclusion:Continuous ESPB mildly improved the QoR-15 score in patients undergoing minimally invasive cardiac surgery and reduced postoperative pain scores,opioid consumption,and the incidence of rescue analgesia.