RESUMO
Pregabalin has been considered to be a safe treatment for neuropathic pain. Owing to the lack of research regarding the use of pregabalin in the management of pain in under-resourced settings, our study aimed to deduce the effectiveness of a pre-emptive single dose of pregabalin pre-operatively to provide pain relief after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Treating acute pain is essential to avoid an increased hospital stay. There is a need for non-opioid drugs with lower risks to avoid using opioids, which lead to many side effects. Methodology Patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis and scheduled to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital were included in this study. The study aimed to determine whether the effect of pregabalin in combination with patient-controlled analgesia can decrease pain scores. This was a double-blind study where patients, caregivers, and analysts were blinded to group allocation and drugs administered until the data was recorded and sealed. The patients were divided into pregabalin and placebo groups through a web-based model; blocks of four were used and stratification was employed at the center. A confidence interval of 95% was considered significant. Results In our study, a total number of 60 patients were included. They were randomly divided by a computer-based model into two groups, the pregabalin group, and the control group. The placebo group had 33 patients while the pregabalin group had 27 patients. The pregabalin group was given a pregabalin tablet of 150 mg before surgery while the placebo group was given an identical-looking placebo. Patient-controlled analgesia was started in both groups and the visual analog scale (VAS) scoring was observed postoperatively. The pregabalin group had a decreased incidence of pain as compared to the placebo group. There were no significant side effects during the trial; episodes of vomiting were managed using intravenous ondansetron. Conclusion Pregabalin is effective in reducing pain in an acute postoperative period when compared with a placebo. Patients who were pre-emptively administered pregabalin reported decreased VAS as compared to the placebo. However, both were inefficient in reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting.
RESUMO
Background and objective In light of the scarcity of data and research about the management of pain in a low-resource setting, we conducted this study with a view to assessing the effectiveness of intravenous ketamine in comparison to that of intradermal lidocaine in reducing postoperative pain. Postoperative pain can lead to significant morbidity, longer hospital stay, and the development of chronic pain. Our study was formulated to assess the effectiveness of a ketamine bolus in comparison to intradermal lidocaine at the wound site in terms of decreasing pain scores postoperatively. Methods In our study, 99 patients were randomly selected to undergo inguinal hernia repair under spinal anesthesia. After obtaining informed consent from the participants and approval from the hospital ethical committee, the patients were randomly classified into the following three groups: the lidocaine group (group A), the ketamine group (group B), and the control group (group C). The patients in the lidocaine group received 0.6 mL/kg of 0.25% lidocaine (1.5 mg/kg) infiltration at the wound site. The ketamine group was given a 50-mg ketamine bolus at the end of the operation, and the control group did not receive either ketamine or intradermal lidocaine at the wound site. Postoperative pain was recorded using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scoring and the results were compared. The time of the first request for analgesia was also recorded. Results The pain scores measured via VAS scores were higher in patients who received intradermal lidocaine (group A) at the wound site as compared to group B that received a bolus of 50-mg ketamine (p<0.0001); the control group (group C) had pain scores higher than both groups A and B (p=0.0001). Conclusion Based on our findings, administering ketamine bolus can significantly decrease VAS scores and reduce the incidence of chronic post-surgical pain as compared to lidocaine infiltration. Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, provides excellent pain relief and analgesia, which decreases overall pain scores.
