Preemptive Low-dose Epidural Ketamine for Preventing Chronic Post-thoracotomy Pain

About This Study

Chronic post-thoracotomy pain is the most common long-term complication that occurs after a thoracotomy with a reported incidence of up to 80%. While thoracic epidural analgesia has become the mainstay for managing acute post-thoracotomy pain, its effect on the chronic post-thoracotomy pain seems questionable. The objective of this prospective, double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial was to assess the effect of preemptive low-dose epidural ketamine in addition to preemptive thoracic epidural analgesia on the incidence of chronic post-thoracotomy pain.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• •Ketamine
• •ketamine free

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients undergoing surgery with a thoracotomy incision

Exclusion Criteria:

* history of previous thoracic surgery, chronic pain, psychiatric disease, cardiac or vascular disease, neurologic deficits, or contraindications to epidural catheterization such as coagulopathy, or localized or systemic infection

Study Locations (1)