Comparative Evaluation of Continuous Lumbar Paravertebral Versus Continuous Epidural Block for Post-Operative Pain Relief in Hip Surgeries

BACKGROUND Effective control of postoperative pain remains one of the most important and pressing issues in the field of surgery and has a significant impact on our health care system. In too many patients, pain is treated inadequately, causing them needless suffering and they can develop complications as an indirect consequence of pain. Analgesic modalities, if properly applied, can prevent or at least minimize this needless suffering and these complications. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of continuous infusions of local anesthetic drugs by paravertebral and epidural routes in controlling postoperative pain in patients undergoing hip surgeries. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study involved 60 patients who were undergoing hip surgery under the subarachnoid block. They were randomly divided into 2 groups of 30 patients. Group I (paravertebral group) received a single dose of spinal anesthesia with 2.5 mL 0.5% bupivacaine (heavy) + a continuous infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine at 5 mL/h in the paravertebral space. Group II (epidural group) received a single dose of spinal anesthesia with 0.5% bupivacaine (heavy) + a continuous infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine at a rate of 5 mL/hr in the epidural space for 48 hours in the postoperative period. Visual analogue scale (VAS) score, vital statistics, rescue analgesia, and procedure time were compared with the corresponding times between the 2 groups by student's t-test and repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni. P < 0.05 was considered significant. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups regarding mean pain score in the first 48 hours. RESULTS Mean arterial pressure was significantly lower in the epidural group compared with the paravertebral group from 2 hours after start of the infusion until 48 hrs. Regional anesthesia procedure time was significantly longer in the epidural group (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups regarding frequency of postoperative complications and catheter-related problems. CONCLUSIONS The results of our study indicate that for patients who are scheduled for hip surgery, both continuous paravertebral and continuous epidural analgesia are effective in controlling postoperative pain but that the former has several crucial advantages.