Study objective: To determine whether postoperative epidural analgesia is associated with better recurrence-free survival and overall survival after lung cancer surgery.
Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: Academic hospital.
Measurements: Data of patients with stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 nonsmall cell lung cancer, who underwent tumor resection surgery, were studied. Patient data were grouped into three different postoperative pain management interventions: intravenous patient-controlled analgesia, patient-controlled epidural analgesia, and their combination. Univariate and multicovariate Cox proportional hazards models were applied to assess the effects of covariates of interest on overall survival and recurrence-free survival.
Main results: The type of postoperative analgesia used for patients who underwent surgery for nonsmall cell lung cancer did not affect recurrence-free survival or overall survival. However, certain variables, including age ≥ 65 years, male gender, body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m(2), ASA physical status 4, and the need for preoperative blood transfusions, pneumonectomy, and postoperative radiation, were associated with decreased recurrence-free survival and overall survival.
Conclusions: The type of postoperative analgesia used after surgery for nonsmall cell lung cancer is not associated with better 2-year or 5-year recurrence-free survival or overall survival rates.
Keywords: Analgesia; Epidural; Intravenous; Nonsmall cell lung carcinoma; Patient-controlled; Postoperative.
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.