December 16, 2000Open Access
Reduction of postoperative mortality and morbidity with epidural or spinal anaesthesia: results from overview of randomised
Structured PICO
Does neuraxial blockade (epidural or spinal anaesthesia) reduce postoperative mortality and morbidity compared to general anaesthesia in surgical patients?
P
Population
Surgical patients (implied by postoperative context)
I
Intervention
Epidural or spinal anaesthesia (neuraxial blockade)
C
Comparator
General anaesthesia
O
Outcome
Postoperative mortality and morbidity (serious complications)hard clinical
Neuraxial blockade (epidural or spinal anesthesia) reduces postoperative mortality and serious complications, supporting its more widespread use.
Abstract
Neuraxial blockade reduces postoperative mortality and other serious complications. The size of some of these benefits remains uncertain, and further research is required to determine whether these effects are due solely to benefits of neuraxial blockade or partly to avoidance of general anaesthesia. Nevertheless, these findings support more widespread use of neuraxial blockade.