At the moment , the evidence available can not prove that neuraxial anesthesia is more effective and safer than general anesthesia for urological surgery .
There were insufficient data to pool the results relating to mortality , stroke , myocardial infa rct ion , length of hospitalization , quality of life , degree of satisfaction , postoperative cognitive dysfunction and blood transfusion requirements
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Choosing the best anesthetic technique for urological surgery with the aim of mortality reduction remains controversial .
The objective here was to compare the effectiveness and safety of neuraxial anesthesia versus general anesthesia for urological surgery .
Intrathecal Anesthesia and Recovery from Radical Prostatectomy: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial
Background Previous studies suggest that intraoperative anesthetic care may influence  postoperative pain and recovery from surgery . The authors tested the hypothesis that the addition of intrathecal analgesia to general anesthesia would improve long-term functional status and decrease pain in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy . Methods One hundred patients received either general anesthesia supplemented with intravenous fentanyl or general anesthesia preceded by intrathecal administration of bupivacaine ( 15 mg ) , clonidine ( 75 & mgr;g ) , and morphine ( 0.2 mg ) . Patients and providers were masked to treatment assignment . All patients received multimodal pain management postoperatively . Primary outcomes included pain and functional status over the first 12 postoperative weeks . Results Patients receiving intrathecal analgesia  required more intravenous fluids and vasopressors intraoperatively . Pain was well controlled throughout the study ( mean numerical pain scores < 3 in both groups at all times studied ) . Intrathecal analgesia decreased pain and supplemental intravenous morphine use over the first postoperative day but increased the frequency of pruritus . Pain and functional status after discharge from the hospital did not differ between groups . Intrathecal analgesia significantly decreased the duration of hospital stay ( from 2.8 ± 2.0 to 2.1 ± 0.5 days ; P < 0.01 ) as a result of five patients in the control group who stayed in the hospital more than 3 days . Conclusions The benefits of improved immediate analgesia and decreased morphine requirements result ing from intrathecal analgesia must be weighed against factors such as pruritus , increased intraoperative requirement for fluids and vasopressors , and re sources needed to implement this modality . Further studies are needed to determine the significance of the decrease in duration of hospital stay
At the moment , the evidence available can not prove that neuraxial anesthesia is more effective and safer than general anesthesia for urological surgery .
There were insufficient data to pool the results relating to mortality , stroke , myocardial infa rct ion , length of hospitalization , quality of life , degree of satisfaction , postoperative cognitive dysfunction and blood transfusion requirements
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Choosing the best anesthetic technique for urological surgery with the aim of mortality reduction remains controversial .
The objective here was to compare the effectiveness and safety of neuraxial anesthesia versus general anesthesia for urological surgery .