Effects of the prolonged thoracic epidural analgesia on ventilation function and complication rate after the lung cancer surgery.

Thoracic epidural analgesia has been considered to have a good anesthetic efficacy and to decrease the postoperative complication rate, while its effect upon the ventilation function is still the topic of many clinical studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the course of early postoperative period using thoracic epidural analgesia. Material and methods. A total of 453 patients undergoing the operation due to the non–small cell carcinoma were selected and examined. Their postoperative complications and mortality rate were evaluated. In 79 patients, arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in the first second, and the efficacy of analgesia wer…