Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30308525›Full record

Observational studyDiseases of the colon and rectum2018

Thoracic Epidural Analgesia: Does It Enhance Recovery?

David R Rosen, Rachel C Wolfe, Aneel Damle, Chady Atallah, William C Chapman, Joel M Vetter, Matthew G Mutch, Steven R Hunt, Sean C Glasgow, Paul E Wise and 2 more

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Diseases of the colon and rectum, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. ROUX-IN-Y GASTROJEJUNAL BYPASS: WHICH ANESTHETIC TECHNIQUE HAS BEST RESULTS?Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery · 2021
    Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Effect of single-shot intrathecal morphine versus continuous epidural analgesia on length of stay after gastrectomy for cancer: a retrospective cohort study.Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. State-of-the-art colorectal disease: postoperative ileus.International journal of colorectal disease · 2021
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

David R RosenDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Rachel C WolfeDepartment of Pharmacy, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri.
Aneel DamleDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Chady AtallahDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
William C ChapmanDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Joel M VetterDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Matthew G MutchDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Steven R HuntDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Sean C GlasgowDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Paul E WiseDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Radhika K SmithDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Matthew L SilvieraDepartment of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Washington University in St. Louis · USBarnes-Jewish Hospital · US

Funding

SURGICAL ONCOLOGY TRAINING GRANTT32CA009621 · NCI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI TIMOTHY J. EBERLEIN, William E. Gillanders · 1988 to 2026
$12.9M
NCI NIH HHS T32 CA009621
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThoracic epidural analgesia has been shown to be an effective method of pain control. The utility of epidural analgesia as part of an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol is debatable.

objectiveThis study aimed to determine if the use of thoracic epidural analgesia in an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol decreases hospital length of stay or inpatient opioid consumption after elective colorectal resection.

designThis is a single-institution retrospective cohort study. SETTINGS: The study was performed at a high-volume, tertiary care center in the Midwest. An institutional database was used to identify patients. PATIENTS: All patients undergoing elective transabdominal colon or rectal resection by board-certified colon and rectal surgeons from 2013 to 2017 were included.

main outcome measuresThe main outcome was length of stay. The secondary outcome was oral morphine milligram equivalents consumed during the first 48 hours.

resultsThere were 1006 patients (n = 815 epidural, 191 no epidural) included. All patients received multimodal analgesia with opioid-sparing agents. Univariate analysis demonstrated no difference in length of stay between those who received thoracic epidural analgesia and those who did not (median, 4 vs 5 days; p = 0.16), which was substantiated by multivariable linear regression. Subgroup analysis showed that the addition of epidural analgesia resulted in no difference in length of stay regardless of an open (n = 362; p = 0.66) or minimally invasive (n = 644; p = 0.46) approach. Opioid consumption data were available after 2015 (n = 497 patients). Univariate analysis demonstrated no difference in morphine milligram equivalents consumed in the first 48 hours between patients who received epidural analgesia and those who did not (median, 135 vs 110 oral morphine milligram equivalents; p = 0.35). This was also confirmed by multivariable linear regression. LIMITATIONS: The retrospective observational design was a limitation of this study.

conclusionThe use of thoracic epidural analgesia within an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol was not found to be associated with a reduction in length of stay or morphine milligram equivalents consumed within the first 48 hours. We cannot recommend routine use of thoracic epidural analgesia within enhanced recovery after surgery protocols. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A765.

Indexed as

Anesthesia, EpiduralLength of StayAgedAnalgesics, OpioidAnesthetics, LocalBupivacaineClinical ProtocolsColonFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPostoperative PainRecovery of FunctionRectumRetrospective StudiesAnalgesics, OpioidAnesthetics, LocalBupivacaine

Identifiers

PMID30308525
PMCPMC6219916
OpenAlexW2897351442

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.