Effect of epidural block on postoperative long-term quality of life in patients undergoing radical op-eration for lung cancer under general anesthesia / 中华麻醉学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the effect of epidural block on postoperative long-term quality of life in patients undergoing radical operation for lung cancer under general anesthesia. Methods A total of 348 patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer of both sexes, aged 18-80 yr, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical statusⅠ-Ⅲ, with body mass index of 18-30 kg∕m2, with International Associa-tion for the Study of Lung Cancer staging criteria stage 1-2, scheduled for elective radical operation for lung cancer under general anesthesia, were divided into 2 groups ( n＝174 each) using a random number table method: general anesthesia plus patient-controlled intravenous analgesia ( PCIA) group ( group G) and general anesthesia plus epidural anesthesia plus patient-controlled epidural analgesia group ( group GE). Anesthesia was induced by target-controlled infusion of propofol and fentanyl and intravenous injection of rocuronium. The patients were tracheally intubated and mechanically ventilated to maintain the end-tidal pressure of carbon dioxide at 30-40 mmHg. Anesthesia was maintained by target-controlled infusion of propofol and intravenous injection of remifentanil. An increment of fentanyl was given immediately after chest opening and closing, and cisatracurium besylate was injected intravenously. In group GE, 0. 375%ropivacaine was epidurally injected in a initial dose of 5-8 ml followed by continuous epidural infusion at 5 ml∕h, and infusion was stopped before closing the chest. Bispectral index value was maintained at 40-60 during operation. PCIA was performed at the end of operation with fentanyl, flurbiprofen, ramosetron or palonosetron hydrochloride, and the PCA pump was set up with a 0. 5 ml bolus dose, a 15-min lockout in-terval and background infusion at a rate of 2 ml∕h in group G. Patient-controlled epidural analgesia was per-formed with 0. 15%-0. 18% ropivacaine 250 ml, and the PCA pump was set up to deliver 2-3 ml bolus dose with a 20-min lockout interval and background infusion at 4-5 ml∕h in group GE. Postoperative analge-sia was performed until 48 h after operation in both groups. Patients were followed up by telephone at half a year and 1 and 2 yr after operation. The 12-item short-form scale was used to evaluate the quality of life. Physical component summary (PCS-12) and mental component summary (MCS-12) scores were calculated. Results PCS-12 and MCS-12 scores were significantly lower at 2 yr after operation than at half a year in both groups (P＜0. 05). Compared with group G, PCS-12 and MCS-12 scores were significantly increased at 2 yr after operation in group GE (P＜0. 05). Conclusion Compared with general anesthesia alone, epi-dural block provides better effect on postoperative long-term quality of life in patients undergoing radical op-eration for lung cancer under general anesthesia.