Ketorolac does not decrease postoperative pain in elderly men after transvesical prostatectomy.

Purpose: To assess the postoperative analgesic efficacy and morphine-sparing effect of ketorolac in elderly patients.

Methods: Sixty ASA-physical status I to III men, aged 60-88 yr, undergoing transvesical prostatectomy were studied according to a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind study protocol. A standard general anaesthetic was administered. Thirty minutes before concluding the surgical procedure either ketorolac 60 mg or an equal volume of saline was administered, im. Postoperative pain was assessed hourly for six hours using a 100 mm visual analog score (VAS) and a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device.

Results: Hourly PCA-demands, actual morphine delivered, and patient generated VAS pain scores were unaffected by the treatment modality. On conclusion of the study the total PCA morphine delivered was 11.9 mg +/- 1.38 and 10.8 mg +/- 1.52 for the saline and ketorolac groups, respectively.

Conclusion: The intraoperative administration of ketorolac, 60 mg, im, was not associated with postoperative morphinesparing or improved analgesia in this elderly population.