Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of different anesthetic methods on perioperative immune function and long-term regression of patients undergoing thoracoscopic radical surgery for esophageal cancer. METHODS: Data from 147 patients undergoing thoracoscopic radical surgery for esophageal cancer in our hospital from January 2017 to June 2019 were selected for retrospective analysis. Patients were divided into control (intravenous anesthesia combined with an epidural block, n = 83) and observation (intravenous anesthesia combined with a thoracic paravertebral nerve block, n = 64) groups. The use of relevant drugs during the surgery, indexes of the peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subpopulation at different time points (before induction of anesthesia, at the completion of surgery, 24 h postoperatively, and 48 h postoperatively), and 3-year postoperative survival were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Data on propofol and remifentanil use during surgery were not significantly different (P > 0.05) between the two groups. The proportion of vasoactive drug use was lower in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Differences in data for CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD4+/CD8+ cells between time points were significant (F = 13.256, 20.307, 18.035, P < 0.05), while those between the two groups were not (F = 1.005, 1.135, 1.204, P > 0.05). There was no interaction between data processing factors and time between the control and observation groups in CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD4+/CD8+ cells (F = 0.358, 0.778, 1.107, P > 0.05). The median overall survival time was 21.988 (95 % confidence interval: 18.436-25.541) and 26.978 (95 % confidence interval: 20.124-33.833) months in the control and observation groups, respectively, with a significant difference between the two groups (Log-rank χ(2) = 3.925, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both anesthetic methods achieve satisfactory anesthetic results and reduce postoperative stress and immunosuppression. However intravenous anesthesia combined with an epidural block can increase the incidence of intraoperative hypotension in the patients, thoracic paravertebral nerve block combined with general anesthesia is more favorable for maintaining intraoperative blood pressure and heart rate stability, as well as for postoperative survival.