[Application of general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia/analgesia in rehabilitation after gastric cancer resection].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of general anesthesia with epidural anesthesia and postoperative epidural analgesia in terms of pain relief and post-operative functional recovery. Methods: Ninety-six patients were randomly assigned to general anesthesia and intravenous analgesia group (GI) or general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia and epidural analgesia group (GE). Demographic and operative data, postoperative VAS pain scores, gastrointestinal function, postoperative hospital stays, general complications were assessed prospectively. Results: (1) The postoperative VAS scores of patients in the group GE at 2, 24, 48, and 72 hours were significantly lower than those in the group GI. (2) Compared with the group GI, the patients in group GE had earlier postoperative flatus and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (8.4 ± 2.5 vs 10.0 ± 3.2, P =0.012 8). Conclusion: General anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia and postoperative epidural analgesia could provide better pain relief, enhance early rehabilitation and reduce the duration of hospital.