Randomized Controlled Trial of Epidural versus Patient-controlled Intravenous Analgesia for Postoperative Pain Control after Laparoscopic Gastrectomy

Although epidural analgesia (EDA) is considered standard postoperative analgesia for open gastrectomy, it has been unclear whether EDA has benefits in laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) because postoperative pain after a laparoscopic procedure is significantly reduced. We are conducting a two-arm, single-center, prospective randomized non-inferiority trial to evaluate the postoperative pain relief of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) compared to EDA. A total of 132 patients undergoing LG will be randomized to EDA and PCIA groups (n=64 each) for postoperative pain control. The primary endpoint is postoperative pain at 24 h after surgery. This study will clarify the optimal pain management after LG.