This approach has been design ed to provide adequate analgesia while minimizing exposure to adverse events
Background : Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has advantages over the open procedure for postoperative pain .
However , a systematic review of postoperative pain management in this procedure has not been conducted .
Efficacy of thoracic epidural analgesia following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
This study was undertaken to determine whether epidural analgesia has any benefit for post-operative pain relief in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy . Patients were r and omly assigned to receive post-operative epidural analgesia with a morphine-bupivacaine combination  ( Group A , n = 22 ) or placebo ( saline ) ( Group B , n = 22 ) . The same st and ard general anaesthetic technique , which consists of nitrous oxide and isoflurane in oxygen was used . Analgesia was assessed using visual analogue pain scores ( 0 - 10 cm ) . The evaluation was carried out 24 and 48 h post-operatively . At 24 h after anaesthesia , pain scores in Group A ( 2.3 + /- 1.2 ) were lower than those in Group B ( 4.4 + /- 1.5 ) ( P < 0.05 ) . However , at 48 h post-operatively , no difference in scores was observed between the two groups . In conclusion , epidural analgesia with a morphine-bupivacaine combination improves pain relief during the first 24 h following laparoscopic cholecystectomy
This approach has been design ed to provide adequate analgesia while minimizing exposure to adverse events
Background : Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has advantages over the open procedure for postoperative pain .
However , a systematic review of postoperative pain management in this procedure has not been conducted .