Naren C Kotemane1, Niraj Gopinath, Rakesh Vaja. 1. Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Glenfield Hospital, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The authors present a national survey determining the current practice of postoperative analgesia after major thoracic surgery in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Two hundred and forty anaesthetists from 36 thoracic centres were surveyed and the response rate was 78%. RESULTS: The commonest analgesic technique after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is paravertebral block combined with patient-controlled analgesia with morphine. In open thoracotomy procedures, although epidural analgesia was used by a majority of the respondents, paravertebral block combined with patient-controlled analgesia with morphine is gaining popularity as an alternate technique for postoperative analgesia. CONCLUSION: The present survey demonstrates the increasing use of paravertebral block as an alternate regional anaesthetic technique to epidural analgesia after major thoracic surgery in the United Kingdom.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The authors present a national survey determining the current practice of postoperative analgesia after major thoracic surgery in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Two hundred and forty anaesthetists from 36 thoracic centres were surveyed and the response rate was 78%. RESULTS: The commonest analgesic technique after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is paravertebral block combined with patient-controlled analgesia with morphine. In open thoracotomy procedures, although epidural analgesia was used by a majority of the respondents, paravertebral block combined with patient-controlled analgesia with morphine is gaining popularity as an alternate technique for postoperative analgesia. CONCLUSION: The present survey demonstrates the increasing use of paravertebral block as an alternate regional anaesthetic technique to epidural analgesia after major thoracic surgery in the United Kingdom.