• Mirang Lee, Ji-Yoon Jung, Youngmin Han, Yoon Soo Chae, Won-Gun Yun, Hye-Sol Jung, Young Jae Cho, Yoo Jin Choi, Ho-Jin Lee, Wooil Kwon, Won Ho Kim, and Jin-Young Jang.
• Department of Surgery and Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• Br J Surg. 2024 Nov 27; 111 (12).

BackgroundThoracic epidural analgesia (TEA), once the standard for pain management in major abdominal operations, is associated with postoperative complications, making preperitoneal continuous wound infiltration (CWI) a promising alternative. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of CWI and TEA in managing postoperative pain after open pancreatoduodenectomy.MethodsIn a single-centre, randomized, open-label non-inferiority trial, adult patients undergoing elective open pancreatoduodenectomy were assigned to either CWI or TEA for pain management. The primary outcomes were mean pain scores at rest on the first 3 postoperative days (PODs), using an 11-point numeric rating scale, with a non-inferiority margin of 1 point or less. Secondary outcomes included pain scores at rest and during coughing on PODs 1, 2, and 3; total opioid consumption; incidence of postoperative complications; quality of postoperative recovery; and duration of hospital stay.ResultsAmong the 134 patients analysed (CWI 70, TEA 64), CWI was non-inferior to TEA in terms of mean pain scores at rest (mean difference -0.13, 95% c.i. -0.72 to 0.47). Additionally, CWI demonstrated superior pain relief at rest and higher-quality recovery scores on POD 3. Compared with CWI, TEA was associated with significantly decreased total opioid consumption and shortened time to the first passage of flatus, but a higher incidence of postoperative hypotension. No other outcome measures showed significant differences between the two groups.ConclusionCWI was non-inferior to TEA during the early postoperative period, and has emerged as a favourable alternative to TEA, offering better pain relief and enhanced recovery on POD 3. Registration number: NCT04375826 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of BJS Foundation Ltd. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

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