Fig. 3

Box plot of scores for the VAS by study groups across different study times: T1 = immediately out of post-anesthesia care unit (PACU); T2 = postoperative 6 h; T3 = postoperative 12 h; T4 = postoperative 24 h. Group C, general anesthesia with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA); group T, general anesthesia with patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCE); and group E, general anesthesia with continuous ESPB and PCIA. ^*P < 0.05 versus group C. ^#P < 0.05 versus group T. Median values shown as solid line. The whiskers represent the 5th and 95th percentile values. (A) VAS scores at rest; (B) VAS scores during coughing. VAS, visual analog scale