Trial Information

Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial to Compare Continuous Preperitoneal Analgesia to Continuous Epidural Analgesia for Pain Control After Colon and Rectal Surgery

Background Perioperative analgesia is a vital part of the management of patients undergoing
colon and rectal surgery, affecting well being and length of hospital stay. Neuraxial
anesthetics infused through epidural or spinal catheters have become commonplace pain
management agents for patients. These techniques, however, are labor-intensive and
expensive. Alternatively, local analgesics may be administered directly to the surgical
wound via silver catheters.

Aim Two standard methods of analgesia for pain control for colon and rectal surgery will be
evaluated systematically to determine if these two approaches are equivalent in terms of
patient pain scores and supplemental narcotic use.

Study Design This is a prospective randomized study of 114 participants undergoing elective
colon and rectal surgery at an independent academic medical center. The primary outcomes
are post-operative pain control and supplemental narcotic usage.

Other variables of interest

- Surgical site infections

- The post-operative time to return of bowel function

- The hospital expenses/cost differences

- Quality of life measured with the SF- 36 questionnaire