Effect of pre-emptive pregabalin on pain management in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pre-emptive pregabalin might be beneficial to the patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, the results remained controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effect of pregabalin on pain management of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of pregabalin versus placebo on laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included. Two investigators independently searched articles, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. The primary outcome was pain scores Meta-analysis was performed using random-effect model. RESULTS: Six RCTs involving 434 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with control intervention, pregabalin intervention was found to significantly reduce the pain scores (Std. mean difference=-0.57; 95% CI=-0.85 to -0.29; P<0.0001) and postoperative fentanyl consumption (Std. mean difference=-1.74; 95% CI=-2.31 to -1.16; P<0.00001), improve Ramsay Sedation score (Std. mean difference=1.03; 95% CI=0.46 to 1.60; P=0.0004), but demonstrated no influence on nausea and vomiting (RR=0.82; 95% CI=0.57 to 1.19; P=0.30), as well as headache (RR=0.95; 95% CI=0.55 to 1.64; P=0.86). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to control intervention, pregabalin intervention was found to significantly reduce the pain scores and postoperative fentanyl consumption, and improve Ramsay Sedation score in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but had no influence on nausea and vomiting, as well as headache.