Benefits of Perioperative Epidural Analgesia : A Review of the Published Evidence

Although epidural analgesia has been used to manage pain during and after major surgery of various kinds for decades, its popularity appears to be in decline due to the adoption of minimally invasive surgical procedures, the widespread use of prophylactic anticoagulation therapy, and the availability of alternative analgesic techniques including peripheral nerve blocks. However, recent meta-analyses and large randomized controlled studies suggest that there are benefits from perioperative use of thoracic epidural analgesia in patients undergoing thoracic and open abdominal surgery and in high-risk patients. Thus, epidural analgesia still has an important role in perioperative pain management.