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Thoracic Epidural Analgesia...What we don't know!





Lowers total systemic vascular resistance and increases blood flow through GI arteries (Lazar, surgery 2003)


Increases intraoperative global subcutaneous tissue oxygen tension (Kabon, Anesth Analg 2003)


Improves postoperative (Michelet acta Anaesthesiol scand 2007) or decreases intraoperative (Al-Rawi, Anesth Analg 2008) cardiac output and gastric microcirculatory blood flow (LDF)


Epinephrine infusion restores intraoperative blood pressure and gastric microcirculatory blood flow during TEA (Al-Rawi,Anesth Analg 2008)

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