Thoracic epidural analgesia and deep vein thrombosis in cholecystectomized patients.

The effect of continuous thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) on the occurrence of postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was studied with the [125I]-fibrinogen uptake test in patients undergoing elective gallbladder surgery. The 98 patients were randomly allocated to three groups, viz. TEA for 24 hours, TEA plus general anesthesia with intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV) and general anaesthesia with IPPV but no TEA. The frequency of DVT was 13% in the group with general anaesthesia only and 7% in both of the other groups.