ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Otorinolaringologia 2014 June;64(2):65-9

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Effects of gabapentin on acute pain after nasal septoplasty

Nesioonpour S. ^{1, 2}, Behaeen K. ^{1, 2}, Dehghani Firoozabadi M. ^{1, 2}, Javaher Forooshzadeh F. ^{1, 2}, Dadkhah M. ^{1, 2}, Olapour A. ^{1, 2}, Naderan M. ³

¹ Pain Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; ² Department of Anesthesiology, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; ³ Farzan Clinical Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

AIM: The goal of this study was to assess the effects of gabapentin on the control of acute pain and opioid drug administration after surgical repair of nasal septum deviation.
METHODS: This was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial. We registered 62 candidate patients for nasal septoplasty and randomized them in two groups, containing 31 individuals each. The method of anesthesia and the surgical procedure technique were essentially the same for both groups. The intervention group received 800 mg gabapentin orally one hour prior to operation and the control group received exactly the similar placebo at corresponding time. The pain was assessed via visual analogue scale (VAS) at 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 hours after operation. The amount of pethidine prescription for postoperative pain relief, heart rate, respiratory rate, and mean arterial pressure were documented at the predetermined timings.
RESULTS: We found significantly lower pain in the intervention group at hours 4 (P=0.012) and 8 (P=0.007) measurements. We also discovered significantly lower respiratory rate at hours 1 (P=0.021), 8 (P=0.009), 12 (P=0.008), 16 (P=0.007), 20 (P=0.010) which used as a surrogate marker of the lower pain experienced by patients. There was no significant difference in heart rate and mean arterial pressure values between the two groups. The total dose of pethidine was significantly lower in the gabapentin-treated group (P=0.049).
CONCLUSION: Administration of gabapentin prior to nasal septoplasty surgery results in lower level of acute pain and lower consumption of pethidine while imposing no adverse effects.