ABSTRACT
Objective The choice of perioperative analgesia regimens for radical resection of colorectal cancer is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of general anesthesia combined with epidural block or transverse abdominis plane block on surgical recovery of patients, and provide a basis for the choice of analgesic methods for radical resection of colorectal cancer. Methods The clinical data of 118 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer under general anesthesia in Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University between February 2016 and May 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, and the patients were divided into group A (epidural block, n=61) and group B (transverse abdominis plane block, n=57) according to anesthesia regimens. The two groups were given the same general anesthesia induction and maintenance medication. The dosages of general anesthetics in two groups were recorded, and the postoperative recovery situations (including first anal exhaust time, eating time, ambulation time, hospital stay and visual analogue scale score) were compared, and the stress indexes of heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), cortisol (Cor) and norepinephrine (NE)], immune indexes of CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, total T lymphocyte count and natural killer cell (NK) count and inflammation indicators of human chemokine CXC ligand 8 (CXCL8), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were detected in two groups at different time points. Results The dosage of sufentanil in group A was lower than that in group B [(25.36±4.74) μg vs (28.43±3.69) μg] (P<0.001). The first anal exhaust time, eating time and first ambulation time in group A were shorter than those in group B (P<0.05). The VAS scores in group A were lower than those in group B at different time points (P<0.001). The levels of HR, MAP, Cor and NE in group A were lower than those in group B at T2~T3, and the SpO2 at T2 was lower than that in group B [(5.11±0.31)% vs (5.96±0.34)%] (P<0.05). At 24h after operation, the CD8+ and total T cell in group A were lower than those in group B [(20.79±13.02)% vs (26.91±10.22)%, (60.23±8.97)% vs (64.33±12.76)%] while the CD4+/CD8+ and NK cell count were higher than those in group B [(1.66±0.63) vs (1.25±0.95), (27.71±10.98)% vs (20.02±1.74) %] (P<0.05). The levels of CXCL8, IL-6 and TNF-α were lower than those in group B (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of adverse reactions between group A and group B (3.28% vs 5.26%) (P>0.05). Conclusion General anesthesia combined with epidural block can reduce the dosages of anesthetic drugs in radical resection of colorectal cancer, reduce the body stress response and inflammatory response, and weaken the early immunosuppressive effects, and its overall analgesic effects are better than those of combined transverse abdominis plane block.