Anaesthesia and Analgesia Methods Applied in Thoracic Surgery

Aim: To determine the anaesthesia and analgesia methods applied in thoracic surgery in our clinic and to evaluate these with current literature. Method: A retrospective evaluation was made of patients who underwent surgery in the Chest Surgery Clinic of Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital in the period January 2011-2014. The demographic data of patients, the operation applied, the anaesthetic and analgesic agents used, monitorisation and complications which occurred perioperatively were obtained from anaesthesia notes and computer records and were recorded on scanning forms with many variables. Results: Following the scanning of the study, the data of 210 patients were accesssed. No statistical difference was determined in respect of the demographic data of the patients. The most frequent operations were found to be thoracotomy (n=103) and bronchoscopy (n=85). Benzodiazepine was used in all groups and patients. In almost all groups, propofol was found to be the most preferred agent for intravenous inducton. Vercuronium and rocuronium were the most frequently applied muscle relaxant agent, sevoflurane was generally selected as the inhalation agent and was applied with a mixture of air and oxygen. In addition to the application of standard monitorisation, in major operations such as thoracotomy where central and arterial entrance was made, contramal was used as postoperative analgesia and in thoracotomy operations, the selection of thoracic epidural route and patient-controlled analgesia was determined to be statistically significant. Postoperative complications developed in 8 patients, there was ventilator requirement in 13 patients and 53 patients were followed up in the intensive care unit in the postoperative period. Conclusion: Although the number of patients admitted for thoracic surgery in our study was low, it can be said that it was attempted to reach current standards in the application of anaesthesia and analgesia. Taking the experience of each anaesthesia clinic in thoracic surgery and the standards of the centre into consideration, there is a need for a clinic-specific anaesthesia and analgesia strategy to be developed with the aid of scientific studies.