Post

New research · Anesthesiology
Scandinavian journal of pain · 1d
Case-controlScandinavian journal of pain · 2026

Failed epidural after upper abdominal laparotomy in chronic pain patients with opioid use - a retrospective case control study.

Johnny Dohn Holmgren Andersen, Iryna Khridina, Danja Lykke Kristensen … Eske Kvanner Aasvang
Read paper
AnesthesiologyCase-control

Epidural failure occurred in 41.3% of chronic pain patients on opioids.

Failed epidural after upper abdominal laparotomy in chronic pain patients with opioid use - a retrospective case control study.

Johnny Dohn Holmgren Andersen et al. · Scandinavian journal of pain · 2026
Purpose

This study evaluated the incidence of failed epidural analgesia, defined as epidural catheter replacement, in opioid-treated chronic pain patients vs. pain-free opioid-naïve controls undergoing elective upper laparotomy.

Methods

With known illegal opioid use were excluded.

Results
how often epidurals needed replacing in chronic pain patients on opioids
More results

The median preoperative daily oral morphine equivalent use among chronic pain patients was 45 mg (IQR, 20-80).

“
Conclusion · 1 of 2

Chronic preoperative opioid use for pain significantly increased the rate of postoperative epidural catheter replacement.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

The findings were not explained by external preoperative, technical or surgical factors, supporting further pathophysiological investigations to tailor mechanism based interventions.

Read paper
0 comments

No comments yet. Be the first.

Related papers

LatestFoundational
Randomized Trial
adjusted OR 3.63
ketofol sedation is linked to much higher chances of good brain recovery after 30 days
Animal / Preclinical
6.7%
Only 6.7% of dogs experienced complications after uterine incision closure.
Study
250
median annual heart MRI scans for children's hearts performed per center
Guideline
32 recommendations
recommendations for managing a serious blood clotting problem caused by a blood thinner
Randomized Trial
RR 0·88
Sugammadex led to a lower risk of lung problems or death after surgery
Cohort Study
RR, 3.85
ST-depression, a specific heart signal, means a much higher risk of heart injury around surgery
Cohort Study
OR = 1.036
higher body weight index slightly increases odds of thigh nerve pain after stomach surgery
Cohort Study
OR, 0.14
Preoperative opioid use is associated with 86% lower odds of needing opioids during or after surgery.