Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Combined epidural–general anesthesia reduces opioid use and improves recovery after laparoscopic hysterectomy: a retrospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
In women undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy within an ERAS pathway, combined epidural and general anesthesia was associated with lower opioid exposure, improved early pain control, greater hemodynamic stability, and fewer anesthesia-related adverse events compared with general anesthesia alone.
Study context
- Population
- Consecutive women undergoing elective laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign uterine disease within an institutional enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway, April 2021–September 2023
- Participants
- 98 women
- Exposure
- Combined epidural and GA vs GA alone
- CEA + GAn = 56
- GAn = 42reference
- Outcome
- Opioid consumption and recovery
Methodological detailssingle-centre
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- CEA + GA vs GA: lower intraoperative fentanyl and propofol requirements, reduced total perioperative opioid consumption
- CEA + GA independently associated with reduced total perioperative opioid dose (multivariable analysis)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Pain and recovery
- CEA + GA vs GA: lower Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores during first 24 h, fewer rescue analgesia requirements, shorter time to recovery from anesthesia, earlier ambulation and bowel recovery, shorter hospital stay
Hemodynamics
- Hemodynamic parameters more stable with CEA + GA
Opioid exposure and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) (multivariable analysis)
- Higher opioid exposure independently associated with increased odds of PONV
Safety
Intraoperative and early postoperative adverse events, including PONV
- Less frequent with CEA + GA
Original publication
Combined epidural–general anesthesia reduces opioid use and improves recovery after laparoscopic hysterectomy: a retrospective cohort study. Perioper Med (Lond). Published 21 February 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →