Overview

Epidural Analgesia or Patient-Controlled Analgesia in Treating Patients Who Have Undergone Surgery for Gynecologic Cancer

Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2009-12-01
Target enrollment:
0
Participant gender:
Female
Summary
RATIONALE: Giving pain medication into the space between the wall of the spinal canal and the covering of the spinal cord or giving it into a vein may help lessen pain caused by cancer surgery. It is not yet known whether epidural analgesia is more effective than patient-controlled analgesia in controlling pain in patients who have undergone surgery for gynecologic cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying epidural analgesia to see how well it works compared to patient-controlled analgesia in treating patients who have undergone surgery for gynecologic cancer.
Accepts Healthy Volunteers?
No
Details
Lead Sponsor:
University of California, San Francisco
Treatments:
Fentanyl
Hydromorphone
Ropivacaine
Criteria
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Diagnosis of a gynecologic malignancy

- Scheduled to undergo open abdominal/pelvic surgery (i.e., laparotomy) on the
gynecologic oncology service at the University of California San Francisco Medical
Center

- No failed epidural catheters (for patients choosing epidural analgesia)

- No lumbar epidurals (for patients choosing epidural analgesia)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- Not specified