J Postgrad Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Patient-controlled epidural analgesia with fentanyl and bupivacaine provides better analgesia than intravenous morphine patient-controlled analgesia for early thoracotomy pain.
Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) were studied in terms of analgesic efficacy, respiratory function and side effects after thoracic surgery for 24h. PCEA using fentanyl and bupivacaine as compared to IVPCA using morphine provides better pain relief both at rest and during coughing and is associated with fewer side effects. ⋯ After thoracic surgery, PCEA using fentanyl and bupivacaine as compared to IVPCA using morphine provides better pain relief both at rest and during coughing and associated with fewer side effects.