Conclusion
critically ill
CRITICALLY ILL, ACUTE PANCREATITIS
In a population of intensive care unit adults with acute pancreatitis and low requirement for intubation, this first multicenter randomized trial did not show the hypothesized benefit of epidural analgesia in addition to usual care. Therefore, no definitive conclusion can be drawn from the current results on the efficacy of epidural analgesia in improving clinical outcomes in a population of patients who would have higher intubation rates. Although epidural analgesia was efficient in reducing opioid requirements, it was significantly associated with longer duration of invasive ventilation in our cohort. The potential harm of this intervention in critically ill patients requires further investigation.