Table 2.
Incidence of primary and secondary outcomes by treatment group among matched patients.
| Primary outcome | Epidural (N = 4,176) | No Epidural (N = 16,704) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cardiopulmonary complications and mortality* | ||
| Cardiac complications | 28 (0.7) | 123 (0.7) |
| Intraoperative or postoperative myocardial infarction | 21 (0.5) | 77 (0.5) |
| Cardiac arrest requiring CPR | 9 (0.2) | 57 (0.3) |
| Pulmonary complications | 157 (4) | 685 (4) |
| Pneumonia | 58 (1) | 258 (2) |
| Unplanned tracheal intubation | 49 (1) | 192 (1) |
| Pulmonary embolism | 28 (0.7) | 94 (0.6) |
| Deep vein thrombosis/thrombophlebitis | 53 (1) | 191 (1) |
| Failure of weaning from ventilator (> 48 hours) | 40 (1) | 170 (1) |
| 30-day mortality | 24 (0.6) | 123 (0.7) |
| Secondary outcomes+ | ||
| 1. Stroke | 6 (0.1) | 34 (0.2) |
| 2. Renal complications+ | 43 (1.0) | 170 (1.0) |
| Progressive renal insufficiency without need for dialysis | 30 (0.7) | 121 (0.7) |
| Acute renal failure requiring new dialysis | 13 (0.3) | 50 (0.3) |
| 3. Surgical complications+‡ | 514 (12)‡ | 2,129 (13)‡ |
| Return to OR within 30 days | 173 (4) | 751 (5) |
| All-cause 30 day hospital readmission§ | 420 (10)§ | 1,687 (10)§ |
| 4. Days from operation to discharge|| | 5 [3, 7] | 5 [3, 7] |
| Exploratory outcomes | ||
| 1. Infectious complications | ||
| Superficial surgical site infection | 206 (5) | 740 (4) |
| Deep incisional surgical site infection | 41 (1) | 152 (1) |
| Organ space surgical site infection | 151 (4) | 731 (4) |
| Wound disruption | 31 (0.7) | 140 (0.8) |
| 2. Sepsis | ||
| Sepsis | 102 (2) | 546 (3) |
| Septic shock | 41 (1) | 204 (1) |
| 3. Prolonged ileus¶ | 582 (14) | 2,402 (14) |
Summary statistics are presented as n (%) or median [Q1, Q3] as appropriate.
The primary outcome is a composite consisting of 3 components: cardiac complications, pulmonary complications, and mortality. The 3 components were simultaneously analyzed using an average relative effect generalized estimating equations model using an unstructured covariance matrix.
Renal complications and surgical complications are each collapsed composite analyzed using separate logistic regression models.
No data for 9 patients who received epidurals and 43 patients who did not.
No readmission data for 9 patients who received epidurals and 44 patients who did not.
Length of stay not reported for 9 patients who did not receive epidural analgesia.
No data for 4 patients who received epidurals and 22 patients who did not.