Intravenous Morphine Infusion versus Thoracic Epidural Infusion of Ropivacaine with Fentanyl after the Ravitch Procedure-A Single-Center Cohort Study

Objective. To compare the efficacy of analgesia with intravenous infusion of morphine and thoracic epidural infusion of ropivacaine with fentanyl in pediatric patients after the Ravitch procedure. Methods. Postoperative analgesia was achieved by intravenous morphine infusion with a dose of 0.02–0.06 mg/kg per hour (intravenous group, n = 56) or thoracic epidural infusion of 0.2% ropivacaine and fentanyl 5 µg/mL with a flow rate of 0.1 mL/kg per hour (epidural group, n = 40). Furthermore, the multimodal pain management protocol included paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and metamizole as a rescue drug. The primary outcomes included pain scores (according to the Numerical Rating Scale, range 0–10), while the secondary outcomes included consumption of the rescue drug, anxiety, postoperative side effects, and patient satisfaction. The observation period lasted from postoperative day 0 to postoperative day 3. Results. Median average and maximal pain scores at rest, during deep breathing, and coughing were significantly lower in the intravenous group compared to the epidural group (p < 0.05). The effect size was medium (Cohen’s d ranged from 0.5 to 0.7). Patients receiving morphine required significantly lower numbers of metamizole doses than in the epidural group (median 1 vs. 3; p = 0.003; Cohen’s d = 0.6). Anxiety, postoperative side effects, and patient satisfaction were similar in both groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions. An intravenous infusion of morphine may offer better postoperative analgesia than a thoracic epidural infusion of ropivacaine with fentanyl.