The effect of pregabalin for relief of postoperative pain after abdominal hysterectomy

Background: Failure to provide postoperative pain relief is morally and ethically unacceptable. Combination of nonopioid analgesics is being increasingly used to reduce opioid-related side effects. Pregabalin, having an inhibitory modulation of neuronal excitability, is being evaluated in this randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: Following institutional ethical clearance, 90 adult females (aged 18-60 years, ASA I and II) undergoing elective abdominal hysterectomy were randomized into two groups (n = 45). Group A patients received pregabalin 150 mg and Group B patients received placebo (vitamin C), 1 h prior to induction of anesthesia. Intraoperative analgesia was provided with paracetamol infusion 1,000 mg over 15 min. Postoperative pain (visual analog scale/VAS), postoperative nausea and vomiting ( four point ordinal scale ) and sedation scale ( Ramsay ) were monitored at 0, 0-4, 4-12, and 12-24 h time intervals. Results: Both static (at rest) and dynamic (during coughing) pain score (VAS) and the consumption of rescue analgesia (ketorolac) were significantly (< 0.001) less in the pregabalin group. There were no significant differences in the postoperative nausea and vomiting, and Ramsay sedation scale. Conclusion: Preoperative pregabalin had significant effect in relieving postoperative pain when given as an adjuvant. © 2014 Regional Institute of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.