title: Comparison of continuous thoracic epidural and paravertebral block for postoperative analgesia after robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass surgery.
abstract: Minimally invasive surgery with robotic assistance should elicit minimal pain. Regional analgesic techniques have shown excellent analgesia after thoracotomy. Thus the aim of this study was to compare thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) technique with paravertebral block (PVB) technique in these patients with regard to quality of analgesia, complications, and haemodynamic and respiratory parameters. This was a prospective randomised study involving 36 patients undergoing elective robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). TEA or PVB were administered in these patients. The results revealed no significant differences with regard to demographics, haemodynamics, and arterial blood gases. Pulmonary functions were better maintained in PVB group postoperatively; however, this was statistically insignificant. The quality of analgesia was also comparable in both the groups. We conclude that PVB is a safe and effective technique for postoperative analgesia after robotic-assisted CABG and is comparable to TEA with regard to quality of analgesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, India. yatinmehta@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Yatin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Dheeraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.forename: Krishna K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Yugal
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Harpreet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wasir
authors.forename: Naresh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Trehan
mesh_terms: D015360:Analgesia, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012371:Robotics; D016896:Treatment Outcome