Tyagi 2011.

Methods	RCT Approved by Institutional Revie\v Board and informed written consent obtained from all patients Setting: India Funding: departmental resources only
Participants	66 patients of ASA physical status 2 to 3, aged 18 to 65 years, scheduled for emergency laparotomy in view of peritonitis due to perforation in the small intestine
Interventions	Treatment group: TEA (T8‐T9 or T9‐T10 and catheter advanced 3 cm passed the needle tip) with bupivacaine 0.125% plus fentanyl during surgery and bupivacaine 0.125% thereafter for 48 hours (n = 33) Control group: IV tramadol (n = 33) General anaesthesia for all participants
Outcomes	Time to first flatus Time to first faeces Leak Hospital LOS
Notes	"None of the patients in group GT developed epidural abscess or meningitis post‐operatively"
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	"Sealed opaque envelopes"
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	"Sealed opaque envelopes"
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Not mentioned
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Not mentioned
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No loss to follow‐up
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All results provided
Other bias	Unclear risk	For the 2 participants with failed epidural blockade, missing data were replaced by the "worst possible recorded outcome in group GT" The 2 groups were similar with regard to demographic profiles and baseline haemodynamic parameters, signs of SIRS, ASA status 2 and 3 , modified APACHE score and MPI score 2 failed‐block analysed in intention‐to‐treat