Authors in the retrospective study analyze a group of 776 patients in whom epidural catheter was applied for analgetic management after chest operation. As the assesment criteria, they observed analgetic effectivity of the method, occurence of serious side effects and complications related to epidural catheter application. Applied substances: combination of morphin and bupivacain. They conclude that the use of epidural analgesia as a routine method in thoracosurgical patients is fully justified for its high effectivity and low occurence of side effects.

        Key words: epidural analgesia – epidural catheter – thoracic surgery