[Effects of whole-course multimodal analgesia on postoperative pain and rapid recovery in elderly patients with urological tumors].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of whole-course multimodal analgesia on postoperative pain and rapid recovery in elderly patients undergoing radical resection of urological tumors. Methods: The 132 geriatric patients (aged≥65 years) with urological tumors undergone laparoscopic surgery in Peking University Third Hospital from January to June 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into three groups based on the perioperative analgesia protocol. Group C [ n =54, 45 males and 9 females, aged 72 (68, 76) years]: patients were treated with local anesthetic wounds infiltration (LAWI) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Group P [ n =36, 26 males and 10 females, aged 70 (67, 72) years]: patients received patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) on the basis of LAWI and NSAIDs. Group M [ n =42, 30 males and 12 females, aged 70 (68, 73) years]: patients received whole-course multimodal analgesia, including peripheral nerve block (PNB) preoperatively and PCIA+NSAIDs for postoperative analgesia. The postoperative resting pain (numerical rating scale, NRS) on postoperative day 1 and 2, the rate of demand for analgesic rescue and sleep aid medication, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting within 48 hours after surgery were collected and analyzed. Postoperative recovery conditions included the laboratory indicators within 24 hours after surgery, the defecation time, the drainage tube removal time, the activities of daily living (ADL) score at discharge, the postoperative complications and the length of hospital stay. Results: The resting NRS [ M ( Q1 , Q3 )] on the 1st and 2nd day postoperatively for patients in group M were 2 (1, 3) and 1 (0, 2) respectively. In contrast, patients in group C had NRS of 4 (3, 5) and 2 (1, 4), while those in group P had scores of 3 (2, 4) and 2 (1, 3). Compared with group C and group P, the resting NRS of patients in group M was significantly decreased (all P <0.001). The incidence of resting NRS≥4 in group M on the 1st and 2nd day postoperatively were 23.8% (10/42) and 11.9% (5/42) respectively, which were lower than those of 51.9% (28/54), 35.2% (19/54) in group C and 33.3%(14/36), 16.7% (7/36) in group P (all P <0.05). The demand rate for analgesic rescue and sleep aid medication within 48 hours after surgery, the incidence of postoperative complications and the postoperative hospital stay were 47.6% (20/42), 9.5% (4/42), 21.4% (9/42), and 5 (4, 6) d in group M, which were lower than those of 72.2% (39/54), 29.6% (16/54), 46.3% (25/54), 6 (5, 9) in group C, and 66.7% (24/36), 27.8% (10/36), 27.8% (10/36), 6 (5, 7) in group P (all P <0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, the laboratory indicators within 24 hours after surgery, the defecation time, the drainage tube removal time, the ADL score and the length of hospital stay among three groups (all P >0.05). Conclusion: For elderly patients with urological tumors undergoing radical surgery, whole-course multimodal analgesia can improve postoperative pain within 48 hours, reduce postoperative complications, shorten postoperative hospital stay, and accelerate patient recovery.