Thoracic epidural anesthesia in cardiac surgical patients: a prospective audit of 2,113 cases
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Non-Intubated Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery
Published on: May 26, 2023
Murali Chakravarthy1, Patil Thimmangowda, Jayaprakash Krishnamurthy
1Wockhardt Heart Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. chakravarthy@vsnl.com
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to present an audit report of thoracic epidural anesthesia without permanent neurologic deficits in more than 2,000 patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Design:
A prospective audit of cases conducted over a 13-year period.
Setting:
Tertiary referral heart hospital.
Participants:
Two thousand one hundred thirteen patients over a period of 13 years.
Interventions:
Epidural catheters were inserted at the C7 to T3 intervertebral space on the day before the operation in all patients; cardiac surgery was performed with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.
Measurements And Results:
The authors did not encounter any permanent neurologic deficits in their series. The authors encountered 18 (0.85%) primary dural punctures and 4 cases (0.18%) of temporary neurologic deficits.
Conclusion:
This series adds to the worldwide experience of the use of epidural analgesia concomitantly with anticoagulation in cardiac surgery without serious complications.
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