HPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Randomized clinical trial of local infiltration plus patient-controlled opiate analgesia vs. epidural analgesia following liver resection surgery.
Epidural analgesia is recommended for the provision of analgesia following major abdominal surgery. Continuous local anaesthetic wound infiltration may be an effective alternative. A prospective randomized trial was undertaken to compare these two methods following open liver resection. The primary outcome was length of time required to fulfil criteria for discharge from hospital. ⋯ Local anaesthetic wound infiltration combined with patient-controlled opiate analgesia reduces the length of time required to fulfil criteria for discharge from hospital compared with epidural analgesia following open liver resection. Epidural analgesia provides superior analgesia, but does not confer benefits in terms of faster mobilization or recovery.