Preemptive use of gabapentin significantly decreases postoperative pain and rescue analgesic requirements in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

• Published in: Canadian journal of anesthesia Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 358 - 363
• Main Authors: CHANDRA KANT PANDEY, PRIYE, Shio, SINGH, Surendra, SINGH, Uttam, RAM BADAN SINGH, PRABHAT KUMAR SINGH
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Toronto, ON Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society 01-04-2004; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acetates - adverse effects; Acetates - therapeutic use; Adult; Amines; Analgesia - methods; Analgesics - adverse effects; Analgesics - therapeutic use; Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Analysis of Variance; Anesthesia; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Anesthetics, Intravenous - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Cholecystectomy; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; Double-Blind Method; Female; Fentanyl - administration & dosage; Fentanyl - therapeutic use; Gallstones; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Laparoscopy - methods; Male; Medical sciences; Pain; Pain Measurement; Pain, Postoperative - prevention & control; Surgery; Time Factors; Tramadol - adverse effects; Tramadol - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; Cholecystectomy; Postoperative; Rescue; Analgesic; Pain; Gabapentin; Use; Anesthesia
• ISSN: 0832-610X; 1496-8975
• DOI: 10.1007/bf03018240

To evaluate the comparative preemptive effects of gabapentin and tramadol on postoperative pain and fentanyl requirement in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Four hundred fifty-nine ASA I and II patients were randomly assigned to receive 300 mg gabapentin, 100 mg tramadol or placebo in a double-blind manner two hours before laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia. Postoperatively, patients' pain scores were recorded on a visual analogue scale every two hours for the initial 12 hr and thereafter every three hours for the next 12 hr. Patients received fentanyl 2 micro g*kg(-1) intravenously on demand. The total fentanyl consumption for each patient was recorded.
Patients in the gabapentin group had significantly lower pain scores at all time intervals (2.65 +/- 3.00, 1.99 +/- 1.48, 1.40 +/- 0.95, 0.65 +/- 0.61) in comparison to tramadol (2.97 +/- 2.35, 2.37 +/- 1.45, 1.89 +/- 1.16, 0.87 +/- 0.50) and placebo (5.53 +/- 2.22, 3.33 +/- 1.37, 2.41 +/- 1.19, 1.19 +/- 0.56). Significantly less fentanyl was consumed in the gabapentin group (221.16 +/- 52.39 micro g) than in the tramadol (269.60 +/- 44.17 micro g) and placebo groups (355.86 +/- 42.04 micro g; P < 0.05). Sedation (33.98%), nausea/retching/vomiting (24.8%) were the commonest side effects in the gabapentin group whereas respiratory depression (3.9%) was the commonest in the tramadol group and vertigo (7.8%) in the placebo group.
Preemptive use of gabapentin significantly decreases postoperative pain and rescue analgesic requirement in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.