Efficacy of intravenous paracetamol and dexketoprofen on postoperative pain and morphine consumption after a lumbar disk surgery.

Background: We compared the analgesic effects of intravenous (IV) paracetamol with that of dexketoprofen on postoperative pain and morphine consumption during the first 24 hour after a lumbar disk surgery.

Methods: This prospective, placebo-controlled, double blind study investigated the analgesic effects of IV paracetamol and dexketoprofen on postoperative pain, morphine consumption, and morphine-related side effects after a lumbar disk surgery. Sixty American Society of Anesthesiologists 1 or 2 status patients scheduled for elective lumbar disk surgery under general anesthesia were included in the study. Patients were treated using patient-controlled analgesia with morphine for 24 hours after a lumbar disk surgery and randomized to receive IV paracetamol 1 g, dexketoprofen 50 mg, or isotonic saline (placebo). The primary endpoint was pain intensity measured by the visual analogue scale, and secondary endpoints were morphine consumption and related side effects.

Results: Pain intensity was lower in the dexketoprofen group (P=0.01) but not in the paracetamol group (P=0.21) when compared with the control group. Cumulative morphine consumption and morphine-related side effects did not reveal significant differences between the groups.

Conclusions: The study showed that pain intensity during 24 hours after the lumbar disk surgery was significantly lowered by dexketoprofen, but not with paracetamol, as a supplemental analgesic to morphine patient-controlled analgesia when compared with controls.