BackgroundPreoperative oral pregabalin could improve postoperative analgesia and prevent chronic pain development. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of oral pregabalin on the duration and quality of postoperative analgesia in spinal anesthesia.MethodsSixty adult patients presented for internal fixation of femoral fracture under spinal anesthesia were included in the study. They were randomly distributed to a placebo group and a pregabalin group receiving 150 mg pregabalin capsules 1 hr before surgery. The onset, duration, and regression of sensory and motor block were recorded. Rescue analgesia consumption, postoperative pain score, and quality of sleep were also assessed.ResultsOral pregabalin significantly prolonged the time to two-segment regression of sensory block, reaching 86.67±17.88 mins, the time required to regression of spinal block to L2, reaching 155.33± 34.71 mins, and the duration of motor block, reaching 138 ± 23.5 mins, with no effect on the onset of sensory or motor block (P = 0.60 and 0.62). It significantly decreased the VAS score 4 hrs, 6 hrs, and 12 hrs postoperatively, prolonged the duration of postoperative analgesia, reaching 392.00±47.23 mins, and decreased morphine consumption to 7.67±3.65 mg. It also improved the quality of sleep in the first night after surgery.ConclusionPreemptive oral pregabalin prolonged the time to the first request for postoperative analgesics and improved sleep in the first night after surgery.

Objective: We evaluated the effect of the addition of 100 ng of naloxone to fentanyl–bupivacaine mixture used in thoracic paravertebral block (PVB) on the duration and the quality of post-mastectomy analgesia.Design: A randomized double-blinded trial.Setting: Oncology surgery unit.Patients and participants: This study included 135 patients, aged 40-60 years of either sex presented for elective unilateral-modified radical mastectomy. Interventions: Patients were divided randomly into three groups: group I, received 0.3 mL/kg of 0.25 percent bupivacaine; group II, received 0.3 mL/kg of 0.25 percent bupivacaine, fentanyl 50 μg, and naloxone 100 ng; group III, received 0.3 mL/kg of 0.25 percent bupivacaine and fentanyl 50 μg.Main outcome measure(s): The visual analog scale was assessed immediately post-operative, every 2 hours till 12 hours, and then every 6 hours for 24 hours; the time of first and total amount of rescue analgesia and side effects during the first 24 hours were recorded.Results: Group II showed a significant prolonged analgesia with a delayed first request of rescue analgesia and lower amount of morphine (592.1 ± 14.9 minutes and 7.28 ± 7.81 mg, respectively) than groups I (127.7 ± 35.1 minutes and 19.84 ± 2.56 mg, respectively) and III (232.2 ± 9.27 minutes and 13.52 ± 1.74 mg, respectively) as p 0.001.Conclusion: Using naloxone as additives in PVB has been promising and effective in controlling post-mastectomy pain.

Background Multiple methods exist for the management of pain during normal labor. Epidural analgesia has been reported to be an effective method in that perspective. The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to local anesthetics in epidural analgesia for pregnant females presented for normal delivery. Sixty pregnant females were included in this prospective randomized study, and they were divided into two equal groups: control group which received bupivacaine alone and dexmedetomidine group that received bupivacaine with dexmedetomidine. The primary outcome was the onset of analgesia, while the secondary outcomes included the duration of analgesia, hemodynamic changes, labor progress, neonatal outcomes, and maternal complications. Results Dexmedetomidine group was associated with earlier onset of analgesia (P ˂ 0.001), prolonged duration (P ˂ 0.001), and lower need for top-up doses (P ˂ 0.001) compared to control group. Also, sedation and maternal satisfaction were significantly better in the same group (P = 0.001, 0.025; respectively). Labor progress parameters and neonatal outcomes were comparable between the two groups. Dexmedetomidine group has lower heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure compared to the control group. Despite of dexmedetomidine group had higher incidence of hypotension and bradycardia, it was statistically insignificant when compared to control group. Conclusions Dexmedetomidine is a reliable and an effective adjuvant to the local anesthetics in epidural analgesia during normal delivery as it resulted in earlier onset and significant prolongation of the analgesic time with decrease in the top-up doses intake. Trial registration Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR201710002664704). Register on 3 October 2017.