Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of patient-controlled analgesia through prolonged epidural analgesia after joint replacement of the lower extremities.
Material and methods. We analyzed the postoperative period of 213 elderly and senile patients who were operated on for degenerative-dystrophic and traumatic injuries of the joints of the lower extremities. All patients underwent total joint replacement (164 - THA and 49 - TKA). The age of patients is from 65 to 90 years (average age was 78 ± 8 years) with a physical status of ASA 3 and above. All examined patients were divided into 2 groups. 63 patients comprised the main group, which in the postoperative period underwent patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) through prolonged epidural analgesia. The control group consisted of 150 patients, for the anesthesia of which in the postoperative period only standard systemic multimodal analgesia was used
Conclusion. Patient-controlled analgesia is an alternative to traditional analgesic regimens. This method should be one of the main methods after surgical anesthesia for joint replacement of the lower limb in elderly and senile patients.
