The effects of gabapentin on acute and chronic postoperative pain after coronary
artery bypass graft surgery.
Author(s): Ucak A, Onan B, Sen H, Selcuk I, Turan A, Yilmaz AT.
Affiliation(s): Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, GATA Haydarpasa Education Hospital,
Istanbul, Turkey. dralperucak@gmail.com
Publication date & source: 2011, J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. , 25(5):824-9
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the analgesic effects of
perioperative gabapentin on postoperative acute and chronic pain after coronary
artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery with median sternotomy and internal mammary
artery harvesting.
DESIGN: A double-blind randomized clinical study.
SETTING: A single-academic hospital.
PARTICIPANTS: Patients with ischemic heart disease who were scheduled to undergo
CABG surgery.
INTERVENTIONS: Forty patients were allocated randomly into 2 groups; the
gabapentin group (n = 20) received 1.2 g/d of oral gabapentin before and for 2
days after surgery, and the placebo group (n = 20) received a placebo capsule
instead. The primary outcome was to evaluate the effects of gabapentin on acute
and chronic pain after surgery. The postoperative evaluation included the
assessment of pain at rest and when coughing, intravenous tramadol usage,
postoperative morbidities, and side effects of gabapentin. Postoperative
analgesia at 6, 12, 18, 24, 48, and 72 hours after extubation and at discharge
was evaluated with the visual analog scale. The assessment of postoperative pain
at the 1- and 3-month follow-ups was performed using a numeric rating scale.
MAIN RESULTS: Postoperative pain scores at 1, 2, and 3 days were significantly
lower in the gabapentin group when compared with the placebo group (p < 0.05).
Pain scores at 1 and 3 months postoperatively were lower in the gabapentin group
than in the placebo group (p > 0.05). Consumption of intravenous tramadol given
as rescue analgesic within 24 hours after extubation in the gabapentin group was
99.0 ± 53.8 mg versus 149.4 ± 72.5 mg in the placebo group (p < 0.05). There were
no differences in the incidence of side effects and time to extubation between
the groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Gabapentin significantly reduced the intensity of pain and tramadol
consumption in the early postoperative period after CABG surgery. Pain scores at
1 and 3 months after surgery were low in both groups, with no significant
difference between the groups.
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