Tunneling and suture of thoracic epidural catheters decrease the incidence of catheter dislodgement.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Dislocation of epidural catheters (EC) is associated with early termination of regional analgesia and rare complications like epidural bleeding. We tested the hypothesis that maximum effort in fixation by tunneling and suture decreases the incidence of catheter dislocation.

Methods

Patients scheduled for major surgery (n = 121) were prospectively randomized in 2 groups. Thoracic EC were subcutaneously tunneled and sutured (tunneled) or fixed with adhesive tape (taped). The difference of EC length at skin surface level immediately after insertion and before removal was determined and the absolute values were averaged. Postoperative pain was evaluated by numeric rating scale twice daily and EC tips were screened microbiologically after removal.

Results

Both g

SUBMITTER: Sellmann T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4130313 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature