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Epidural analgesia has been shown to improve pulmonary function and analgesia after abdominal surgery. Although epidural analgesia may increase colonic motility, its effect on the clinical outcome following colonic surgery is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of epidural analgesia on return of peristalsis and length of stay after elective colonic surgery as compared with traditional analgesia. A total of 102 patients undergoing elective colonic surgery (66 left-sided, 36 right) between September 1991 and April 1993 were retrospectively studied. Variables recorded were location of colon anastomosis, type of analgesia, time until return of colonic peristalsis, length of epidural administration, and length of hospital stay. Forty-one patients received epidural and 61 received traditional analgesia. Data was analyzed with a Student's T test (P set0.05) and Spearman's correlation coefficient where appropriate. No statistically significant difference was found between epidural and traditional analgesia with regard to return of peristalsis or length of stay. Similarly, when considering the location of the anastomosis (left versus right colon), no statistically significant difference was demonstrated between the two groups. Also, there was no increased incidence in anastomotic leaks or mortality. |
