Thoracic surgical procedures are among the most painful operations, and their outcomes are affected adversely by postoperative discomfort. Post-thoracotomy pain syndrome (PTPS) is a well-recognized complication of thoracotomy. Post-thoracotomy pain control improves patient satisfaction and decreases postoperative complication morbidity. Epidural analgesia used to be considered as the best method of pain relief after major surgery despite its side-effects, which includes hypotension, respiratory depression, incomplete or failed block, etc. Recently, paravertebral block is an alternative technique that may offer a comparable analgesic effect and a better side-effect profile for post-thoracotomy pain. Dexmedetomidine(DEX) is a Food and Drug Administration-approved, parenteral, selective α2-agonist that induces anxiolytic and analgesia without respiratory depression. It could provide dose-dependent sedation , analgesia , anti-anxiety and inhibition of sympathetic nerves and other effects . Current studies with regard to the effectiveness of DEX as an adjunctive medicine, used in ultrasound-guided continuous thoracic paravertebral blocks for PTPS. The mechanical withdrawal threshold and VAS scores are recorded. The consumption of opioid and general anesthetics during perioperative period are also recorded. To compare the incidence rates of side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, hypotension and bradyarrhythmia in the first 3 days after operation among the groups.Also,to measure and compare the level of inflammatory factor in different group.A questionnaire is adopted to investigate whether there are chronic pain symptoms happen at 6 months after the operation which aim to PTPS.
The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of dexmedetomidine as an adjunctive analgesic, used in ultrasound-guided continuous thoracic paravertebral blocks for Post-thoracotomy Pain Syndrome(PTPS).