Limited Pain Benefit: Epidural vs. Intravenous Analgesia after Open Hepatectomy

Patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) did not significantly improve postoperative pain during ambulation compared to intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) following open hepatectomy. There was a small difference in pain scores on postoperative day 2, but it did not meet the pre-specified definition of clinical significance. PCEA was safe with a low incidence of epidural failure and no related complications. Secondary outcomes, including pain scores at rest, were similar between the PCEA and IV PCA groups.