Comparison of Epidural and Spinal Anesthesia Techniques for Transurethral Resections

Purpose: Transurethral resections (TUR) are commonly performed for elderly population who have multiple comorbidities which can cause intraoperative and postoperative complications. The type of anesthesia has an impact on patient outcome. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of epidural and spinal anesthesia techniques for TUR. Methods: A total of 158 elective TUR cases were evaluated. The patients were randomized into 2 groups: Epidural anesthesia was applied to Group I (n=82) and spinal anesthesia was applied to Group II (n=76). Both groups were compared for intraoperative hemodynamic parameters (mean arterial pressure, heart rate, peripheral oxygen saturations), total duration of hospital stay, perioperative complications, and satisfaction of the patients and surgeons. Results: The patients in the spinal anesthesia group experienced more frequent intraoperative hypotensive episodes during TUR (n=2 vs. n=10; p=0.026) and had lower mean arterial pressure values for the first 30 minutes of anesthesia compared to epidural anesthesia group. The postoperative duration of bed stay was longer in the spinal anesthesia group (402.96±49.61 min) than the epidural anesthesia group (205.91±28.27 min) (p<0.001). The patient satisfaction score was significantly higher in the epidural anesthesia group (2.54±0.63) than the spinal anesthesia group (2.23±1.22) (p=0.04) where as the surgeon satisfaction score were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Epidural anesthesia can be considered as an effective and safe technique for ambulatory interventions especially for elderly patients providing perioperative hemodynamic stability and postoperative early mobilization.