2017 Volume 33 Issue 2 Pages 153-159
Objective: The objective of this clinical study was to compare intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) with patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) after total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH).
Methods: A total of 21 patients subjected to TLH at our hospital from June to September 2015 were divided into two groups – those receiving IV-PCA (IV-PCA group) or those receiving PCEA (PCEA group).
The IV-PCA group received intravenous patient-controlled analgesia and the PCEA group received patient-controlled epidural analgesia. Post-operative pain was followed for 2 days and was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS) at rest and on ambulation. The frequency of analgesic use was also monitored.
Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of either the VAS score or analgesic use. However, the IV-PCA group had a higher VAS score than the PCEA group at ambulation six hours after the procedure. The side effects, mainly post-operative nausea and/or vomiting (PONV), were more frequent in the IV-PCA group.
Conclusion: Without exception, the analgesic effects were consistently inferior in the IV-PCA group after TLH.
