We will compare thoracic epidural anesthesia which is presently used for management of pain after thoracotomy to an intra-operatively placed extrapleural intercostal catheter. The study wil be double blinded and prospective.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of thoracic epidural vs. continuous extra-pleural intercostal local anesthesia for the treatment of post thoracotomy pain in adult patients. Study patients will be randomized between the thoracic epidural and continuous extrapleural catheter groups\[Figure 1\]. Because thoracic epidural anesthesia is the gold standard but continuous extrapleural intercostal local anesthesia is potentially easier and less prone to complications, the study will be structured as an "equivalence study". The null hypothesis (Ho) is that continuous intercostal nerve blockade is worse than epidural for post-thoracotomy pain management. Therefore, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is then that continuous intercostal nerve blockade is equal to or better than epidural for post-thoracotomy pain management.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
26
Gold standard for post thoracotomy pain
Continuous extra-pleural intercostal local anesthesia
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia, United States
pain control-visual analog pain score
Time frame: post surgery monitoring
respiratory measurements (FEV1, PEF), pain score, nausea and vomiting, opiod usage as adjunct to primary treatmetn modalities
Time frame: post surgery monitoring
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