Lumbar epidural fentanyl infusion versus intravenous for post thoracotomy pain relief

ABSTRACT

Fifty patients undergoing thoracic surgery were randomly allocated to receive either a continuous lumbar epidural infusion of fentanyl or intravenous infusion fentanyl for postoperative analgesia. The infusion rate was adjusted to optimize analgesia. Quality of analgesia was assessed by the total dose of fentanyl administered VAS and VRS in comparison between the two groups. It was found that both lumbar epidural and I.V. fentanyl provide satisfactory analgesia, but fentanyl requirements were less when given via the epidural route, [1882 +/- 3, 2596 +/- 791, ug], [P < 0.05]. This suggests a direct spinal cord site of action for lumbar epidural fentanyl