Comparison between the effects of epidural and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia on postoperative disability-free survival in patients undergoing thoracic and abdominal surgery: A post hoc analysis.

This study is the first in our setting to document the long-term effects of patient-controlled analgesia. In a post hoc analysis of our prospective cohort study, we show that although differences in chronic postsurgical pain exist at 3 months post-surgery, disability-free survival rates at 1 year do not differ irrespective of the choice of patient-controlled analgesia. The findings of this study highlight the need for shared decision-making between clinicians and patients.