Preoperative Epidural Placement Provides Effective Analgesia Without Added Morbidity in Lung Transplantation

Epidural analgesia provides effective pain control after lung transplantation. Postoperative placement can be delayed due to a poor mental status, coagulopathy, and difficult positioning in intubated patients. Conversely, preoperative epidural safety can be questioned due to the potential need for anticoagulation for ECMO or bypass. We sought to compare pain control and pulmonary and epidural morbidity between patients receiving preoperative versus postoperative epidurals.

Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - March 31, 2018 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: E.E. Heng, A.L. Axtell, A.G. Fiedler, S. Melnitchouk, D.A. D'Alessandro, G. Tolis, G.A. Cudemus, T. Astor, M.A. Villavicencio Source Type: research