Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing the Effectiveness of Continuous Paravertebral Infusion of Local Anesthetics Versus Intravenous Patient-controlled Analgesia on Acute and Chronic Neuropathic Pain After VATS Lobectomy

Since mid-2000, thoracoscopic lobectomy has been replaced with conventional open lobectomy and it has reduced the operative morbidities and mortalities. However, thoracoscopic lobectomy also results in operative acute pain and the incidence of chronic pain after thoracoscopic lobectomy has been reported as up to 50%. Penetration of chest wall by trocar, torque at trocar and working window by operator, and compression of intercostal nerves have been suggested as a cause of pain after thoracoscopic lobectomy. The intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) that usually have used to control the operative pain, sometimes cause the side effects such as sedation, nausea and vomiting due to its systemic delivery of analgesics. Because of these side effects, IV PCA has to be discontinues and the effective dose of analgesics could not deliver to patients. In contrast to IV PCA, continuous paravertebral infusion of local anesthetics thorough catheter below the parietal pleura might reduce the side effects of IV PCA and control the operative pain effectively. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of continuous paravertebral infusion of local anesthetics thorough catheter below the parietal pleura for 60 hours after operation competed to IV PCA.