Patient-controlled analgesia with oxycodone in the treatment of postcraniotomy pain.

Background: Moderate to severe pain occurs after craniotomy in 60% of patients. We evaluated the feasibility and safety of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with oxycodone in neurosurgical patients, and compared the efficacy of paracetamol with ketoprofen.

Methods: In the study there were 45 patients, who received either paracetamol 1000 mg or ketoprofen 100 mg three times a day. Oxycodone-boluses 0.03 mg/kg were given by PCA-device maximally three times an hour, lock-out time 10 min. The amount of oxycodone used, pain scores and side-effects were recorded.

Results: The ketoprofen group required less oxycodone than the paracetamol group (medians 37.1 mg vs 19.6 mg, P < 0.05). The VAS scores were comparable between the groups at the beginning of the study, during the first postoperative evening and the next morning, but the paracetamol group had a higher score at the conclusion of the study (P < 0.05). The patients in both groups were equally satisfied with the pain relief. There were no differences in side-effects between the groups.

Conclusions: PCA with oxycodone is a suitable method for pain control after craniotomy. No progressive hypoventilation, desaturation or excessive sedation were encountered. Ketoprofen appeared to be more effective than paracetamol.