A comparison of thoracic or lumbar patient-controlled epidural analgesia methods after thoracic surgery

Table 5 The comparison of analgesic related adverse events and postoperative complications between groups

	Group TEA (n = 57)	Group LEA (n = 63)	P*
Hypotension episode	8 (12.7)	21 (36.8)	0.002*
Bradycardia	2 (3.2)	9 (15.8)	0.017*
Nausea and vomiting	7 (11.1)	4 (7)	0.438
ICU stay > 24 hr	0 (0)	5 (7.9)	0.031*
Atelectasis	1 (1.8)	7 (11.1)	0.042*
Pneumonia	2 (3.2)	3 (5.3)	0.567
Reintubation	2 (3.2)	0	0.175
Bronchopleural fistula	1 (1.6)	2 (3.5)	0.501
Rethoracotomy	2 (3.2)	3 (5.3)	0.567
Permanent neurological dysfunction	0	0	NS

*P < 0.05, (n,%), Hypotension episode: fall in systolic blood pressure more than 25% of baseline value for a period of less than 15 minutes. ICU, intensive care unit; LEA, lumbar epidural group; TEA, thoracic epidural group; NS, not significant.

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