Objective To investigate the analgesic effects of ultrasound-guided thoracic nerve block on the patients with scapular fracture.

Methods 140 patients underwent surgery for scapular fracture between January 2018 and November 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Of these patients, 32 received general anesthesia (group G), 55 received brachial plexus block combined with general anesthesia (group B), and 53 received thoracic nerve and brachial plexus block combined with general anesthesia (group S). And the patients in group S were divided into three subgroups:19 received thoracic paravertebral block (subgroup S1), 16 received erector spinae plane block (subgroup S2), and 18 received retrolaminar block (subgroup S3). The additional dosage of sufentanil, pain score, and the requirement of additional analgesics in the PACU were recorded and analyzed.

Results In terms of the additional dosage of sufentanil, pain score, and the requirement of additional analgesics, group B and group S were significantly lower than group G, and group S was also lower than group B (P < 0.05). There was no statistical significance in the above assessments among the three subgroups.

Conclusions For the patients received brachial plexus block combined with general anesthesia, the additional thoracic nerve block can provide better analgesic effects. However, the effects of the three types of thoracic nerve block are similar.