Fentanyl-based intravenous patient-controlled analgesia with low dose of ketamine is not inferior to thoracic epidural analgesia for acute post-thoracotomy pain following video-assisted thoracic surgery

Abstract Background: Thoracic epidural analgesia is the preferred method for postoperative analgesia following thoracic surgery. However, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) may be an effective alternative. This study was conducted because few scientific reports exist comparing fentanyl-based IVPCA including a low dose of ketamine (fk-IVPCA) with thoracic patient-controlled epidural analgesia (t-PCEA) for the treatment of postoperative pain after video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Methods: This prospective, and randomized study included 70 patients randomized into fk-IVPCA and t-PCEA groups. Pain at rest and during movement, successful and unsuccessful triggers after pressing the PCA device button, the need for rescue analgesia, drug-related adverse events, and patient satisfaction were recorded for 48 hours postoperatively. Results: No significant differences in the intensity of pain at rest or during movement were observed between the 2 groups within 48 hours postoperatively. The number of unsuccessful PCA triggers in the t-PCEA group 0 to 4 hours after surgery was significantly higher than that in the fk-IVPCA group. However, the numbers of successful PCA triggers in the fk-IVPCA group at 4 to 12 and 0 to 24 hours after surgery were significantly higher than those in the t-PCEA group. The incidence of analgesic-related side effects and patient satisfaction were similar in both groups. Conclusions: Compared with t-PCEA, the addition of a subanesthetic dose of ketamine to fentanyl-based IVPCA resulted in similar pain control after VATS with no increase in the incidence of drug-related adverse effects. The results confirm that both multimodal intravenous analgesia and epidural analgesia can provide sufficient pain control and are safe strategies for treating acute post-thoracotomy pain.