Effect of Thoracic Epidural Analgesia on Short-term Outcome and Mortality in Geriatric Patients With Open Heart Surgery

It has been shown that stress response suppression by providing good analgesia with local or systemic methods in the postoperative period reduces mortality and morbidity in many types of surgery. Especially the physiological changes that occur with aging, comorbid diseases and the drugs used in the treatment of these diseases, the type of surgery performed, the postoperative pain treatment and the anesthesia method chosen affect mortality and morbidity Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) has provided similar benefits in open heart surgery by suppressing stress response and increasing functional residual capacity with positive effects on the diaphragm, as well as providing good analgesia with thoracic sympathetic block.TEA has positive effects on postoperative pulmonary and circulatory system in selected eligible patients; It allows earlier extubation and provides excellent analgesia. It has been reported that TEA combined with general anesthesia in elective cardiac surgery offers a significant advantage compared to general anesthesia in terms of intensive care and hospital stay, improvement or morbidity. Studies have shown that TEA reduces surgical stress response, improves hemodynamic stability, and reduces the incidence of myocardial ischemia after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) as well as supraventricular arrhythmias in the postoperative period .

Based on these studies, the investigators determined the effects of TEA combined with general anesthesia on postoperative respiratory mechanics, analgesia levels, extubation times, length of stay in intensive care, arterial blood gases, effects on organ functions, morbidity and mortality in geriatric patients with open heart surgery in our hospital. the investigators aimed to contribute to the literature by reviewing it retrospectively.