Effect of endovenous morphine vs. ketorolac on proinflammatory cytokines during postoperative analgesia in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Background: Postoperative pain is the main symptom following a surgical event and is related to an inflammatory process involving cytokine secretion. This type of pain is usually treated with opioids such as morphine, whose analgesic efficacy is well known. However, it is unknown when compared with ketorolac in measuring proinflammatory cytokine levels.