Combined epidural-general anesthesia was associated with lower risk of postoperative complications in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery for pheochromocytoma: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND Current evidences show that regional anesthesia is associated with decreased risk of complications after major surgery. However, the effects of combined regional-general anesthesia remain controversial. The purpose of our study was to analyze the impact of anesthesia (combined epidural-general anesthesia vs. general anesthesia) on the risk of postoperative complications in patients undergoing open surgery for pheochromocytoma. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study. 146 patients who underwent open surgery for pheochromocytoma (100 received combined epidural-general anesthesia and 46 received general anesthesia) in Peking University First Hospital from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2015 were enrolled. The primary outcome was the occurrence of postoperative complications during hospital stay after surgery. Multivariate Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between the choice of anesthetic method and the risk of postoperative complications. RESULTS 17 (11.6%) patients developed complications during postoperative hospital stay. The incidence of postoperative complications was lower in patients with combined epidural-general anesthesia than in those with general anesthesia (6% [6/100] vs. 23.9% [11/46], P = 0.006). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that use of combined epidural-general anesthesia (OR 0.219, 95% CI 0.065-0.741; P = 0.015) was associated with lower risk, whereas male gender (OR 5.213, 95% CI 1.283-21.177; P = 0.021) and perioperative blood transfusion (OR 25.879; 95% CI 3.130-213.961; P = 0.003) were associated with higher risk of postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS For patients undergoing open surgery for pheochromocytoma, use of combined epidural-general anesthesia may decrease the occurrence of postoperative complications.