Multimodal analgesia versus traditional opiate based analgesia after cardiac surgery, a randomized controlled trial.

Background: To evaluate if an opiate sparing multimodal regimen of dexamethasone, gabapentin, ibuprofen and paracetamol had better analgesic effect, less side effects and was safe compared to a traditional morphine and paracetamol regimen after cardiac surgery.

Methods: Open-label, prospective randomized controlled trial. 180 patients undergoing cardiac procedures through median sternotomy, were included in the period march 2007-August 2009.