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High Thoracic Epidural Analgesia in Cardiac Surgery
Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, 07/16/2012
Clinical Article
Nielsen DV et al. – High thoracic epidural analgesia (HTEA) does not reduce the time in the intensive care unit (ICU) or improve the quality of recovery in the ICU.
Methods- Sixty low–risk patients 65 to 80years of age scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery with or without aortic valve replacement.
- Patients randomized to receive high thoracic epidural analgesia (HTEA) as a supplement to general anesthesia.
- The eligible time to discharge from the ICU and the quality of recovery were evaluated by an objective ICU scoring system.
- The time to eligible discharge from the ICU, the ventilation time, and the actual time in the ICU were not shorter in the HTEA group compared with patients receiving conventional general anesthesia.
- Patients receiving HTEA in addition to general anesthesia received less morphine postoperatively but with no consequent beneficial effect on respiration, nausea, sedation, or motor function.
