Effect of epidural analgesia on postoperative complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of epidural analgesia use on postoperative complications in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy. Methods This retrospective cohort study used the 2009 Nationwide Inpatient Sample from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy were grouped on the basis of whether they received epidural analgesia. The effect of epidural use on the composite end point of major complications including death was investigated using a generalized linear model. Results Overall, 8,610 cases of pancreaticoduodenectomy occurred within the United States in 2009, and 11.0% of these patients received epidural analgesia. After controlling for various potential confounders, results of the multivariate regression indicated that epidural analgesia use was associated with lower odds of composite complications including death (odds ratio, .61; 95% confidence interval, .37–.99; P = .044). Conclusions In patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy, epidural analgesia was associated with significantly lower postoperative composite complications.