Laparoscopic donor hepatectomy is being increasingly adopted in transplant programs due to its numerous advantages. However, the role of intrathecal morphine (ITM) in laparoscopic donor hepatectomy has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to compare the analgesic effects and safety of ITM between laparoscopic and open donor hepatectomy. This retrospective study included 742 donors who underwent hepatectomy with ITM between April 2007 and June 2019. Among them, 168 and 574 donors underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) and open hepatectomy (OH), respectively. Propensity score matching yielded two comparable groups of 168 donors each. The primary endpoint was the incidence of moderate-to-severe pain (maximum numerical rating scale [NRS] pain score ≥ 4) within 24 postoperative hours. The LH group had a significantly lower incidence of moderate-to-severe pain within 24 postoperative hours than the OH group (16.1% vs 64.3%, P < .001). Moreover, the cumulative rescue intravenous opioids (in morphine-equivalent dose) on postoperative day (POD) 1 was lower in the LH group than in the OH group (3.3 [0-8.3] mg vs 10 [3.3-17.3] mg; P < .001). There were no significant between-group differences in the incidence of respiratory depression (2.4% vs 0.6%; P = .371) and prescriptions for pruritus (14.3% vs 15.5%; P = .878). However, the prescriptions for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was significantly higher in the LH group than in the OH group (64.9% vs 41.7%; P < .001). The predictors of antiemetic agent prescription included the use of laparoscopic procedure (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.79; P = .021) and female sex (adjusted OR, 5.63; 95% CI, 3.19-9.92; P < .001). Preoperative ITM administration resulted in a significantly lower incidence of moderate-to-severe pain within 24 postoperative hours after laparoscopic donor hepatectomy than after open donor hepatectomy.
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