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Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: A Non-Intubated Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery with Multimodal Analgesia and Sevoflurane Inhalation Anesthesia
Published on: May 26, 2023
Continuous Paravertebral Analgesia versus Continuous Epidural Analgesia after Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy
Jielan Lai1,2, Dongrong Situ1,3,4, Manxiu Xie1,2
1Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Background:
Whether continuous thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) and continuous paravertebral block (PVB) have similar analgesic effects in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy was compared in this study.
Methods:
In all, 86 patients undergoing VATS lobectomy were enrolled in the prospective, randomized clinical trial. Group E received TEA. Group P received PVB. The primary endpoint was postoperative 24-hour visual rating scale (VAS) on coughing. Side effects and postoperative complications were also analyzed.
Results:
Pain scores at rest or on coughing at 24 and 48 h postoperatively were significantly lower in group E than in group P (P <0.05). At 24 h postoperatively, more patients in group E suffered from vomiting (32.6% vs 11.6%, P = 0.019), dizziness (55.8% vs 12.9%, P = 0.009), pruritus (27.9% vs 2.3%, P = 0.002), and hypotension (32.6% vs 4.7%, P = 0.002) than those in group P. Patients in group E were more satisfied (P = 0.047). Four patients in group P and two patients in group E suffered from pulmonary complications (P >0.05). The length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stays were not significantly different.
Conclusions:
Though TEA has more adverse events than PVB, it may be superior to PVB in patients undergoing VATS lobectomy.
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