Perioperative role of oral gabapentin as an analgesic in paediatric patients: A randomised controlled trial

• Published in: Journal of anaesthesiology, clinical pharmacology Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 539 - 543
• Main Authors: Sinha, Chandni, Kumar, Amarjeet, Kumar, Ajeet, Kumari, Poonam, Kumar, Abhyuday, Kumar, Bindey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01-10-2023; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: adolescent; Anesthesia; Ethical aspects; Gabapentin; Medical societies; opioid; Original; Pediatrics; perioperative period; perioperative period; gabapentin; Adolescent; opioid
• ISSN: 0970-9185; 2231-2730
• DOI: 10.4103/joacp.joacp_503_21

Surgical procedure commonly performed in the advanced pediatric age group includes urogenital surgery, adenotonsillectomy, etc., Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of single-dose gabapentin 15 mg/kg on acute pain in the immediate postoperative period in patients aged 8-14 years undergoing surgeries under general anesthesia.
After the approval from the institutional ethical committee, 60 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I and II patients aged 8-14 years undergoing urogenital surgeries (orchidopexy/urethroplasty) under general anesthesia were included in this study. The patients were assigned into one of the two treatment groups. Patients in group I received oral gabapentin 15 mg/kg dissolved in 5 mL of honey 2 h before surgery, while patients in group II received 5 mL honey orally 2 h before surgery.
A total of 60 patients participated. Patients in group I had lower consumption of fentanyl perioperatively (intraoperatively: 1.36 ± 0.70 mcg/kg; postoperatively: 2.36 ± 0.795 mcg/kg) than group II (intraoperatively: 1.8 ± 0.6 mcg/kg; postoperatively: 2.9 ± 0.47 mcg/kg). The differences in the two groups were significant. The time to first rescue analgesia was greater in group I (3.03 ± 0.60 h) than in group II (2.26 ± 0.57 h). There was an increase in sedation score in the treatment group.
Our clinical study demonstrates that a 15 mg/kg single preemptive oral dose of gabapentin might reduce the requirement of analgesics perioperatively in pediatric urogenital surgery but might also be associated with undesirable effects such as increased sedation.