Objective To evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral nerve block anesthesiaon the curative effect and postoperative cognitive function in elderly patients with lung cancer undergoing thoracotomy.MethodsEighty elderly patients with lung cancer in our hospital were divided into two groups

the observation group（n=40）received ultrasound-guided paravertebral nerve block

while the control group（n=50）received epidural block.The changes ofT2 ～T5 time points

postoperative pain at 6 h

12 h

24 h and 48 h

and cognitive function at 48 h after operation were observed intwo groups.ResultsAt the time points of T2～T5

mean arterial pressure and heart rate in the observation group weresignificantly lower than those in the control group（all P<0.05）. After stopping the drug

the average time for patients in theobservation group to resume spontaneous breathing

swallowing and opening their eyes were significantly shorter than those in thecontrol group（all P<0.05）.There were no significant difference in visual analogue scale score between the two groups at 6 h

12 h

24 h and 48 h after operation.There were no significant difference in mini mental state examination（MMSE）score betweenthe two groups before and 48 h after operation

the MMSE score of observation group at 1 h

6 h and 24 h after operation weresignificantly higher than those of control group（all P<0.05）.ConclusionUltrasound-guided paravertebral nerve block has agood effect in elderly patients with lung cancer undergoing thoracotomy

and it will not have a significant impact on the cognitivefunction of patients after operation.It can be clinically applied.