title: [Effects of postoperative continuous epidural analgesia after laparoscopy-assisted colectomy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of continuous epidural analgesia on the postoperative pain and the early recovery after laparoscopy-assisted colectomy (LAC).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 50 patients undergoing elective LAC were investigated for postoperative pain score and other variables retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty patients who had received epidural analgesia (E group) showed significantly lower pain scores for 2 and 24 hours after surgery, compared with twenty patients who had received analgesics intramuscularly or transrectally (C group). The patients in the E group needed significantly less supplemental analgesics than those in C group for 12 to 24 hours after the operation. The incidence of postoperative complications and the early recovery were not significantly different between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show that postoperative continuous epidural analgesia is effective for postoperative pain relief in patients after laparoscopy-assisted colectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Nagano Municipal Hospital, Nagano 381-8551.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Junpei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Tatsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurato
authors.forename: Norimasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hishinuma
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayafuji
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitoh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003082:Colectomy; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics