Bruce Nicholson, MD, from the Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine in University Park, Pa., recently presented four strategies to manage patient pain following surgery, according to an MPR report.
The four strategies included combining drugs of multiple therapeutic classes; optimizing the route of analgesia administration; using single agents with two mechanisms of action; and using fixed-dose combinations of opioids.
According to the report, the study showed a reduction of postoperative neuropathic pain when 300 mg of pregabalin, an anticonvulsant with analgesic properties, was administered prior to and for 14 days following total knee arthroplasty in combination with opioid therapy.
The study also showed that optimizing the route of intraoperative and postoperative analgesia could reduce residual pain. Combination therapy with a hyperalgesic agent, such as ketamine, may provide pain relief because opioids can produce hyperalgesia.
Agents that exert analgesic effects via two mechanisms of action may also be useful in preventing chronic postoperative pain. Studies showed that tapentadol, a mu-opioid agonist and norepinephrine inhibitor, produced a greater mean sum pain intensity difference at 24 hours compared with a placebo.
The study also showed that combination opioid drugs could produce comparable analgesia results compared with morphine.
Read the MPR report on post-operative pain control.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Study: Anesthesiologists' Role in Labor, Delivery Misunderstood
ASA's Standards Revision Focusing on Ventilation Methods Set to Take Effect
Dr. Richard Dutton Analyses French Study About Allergic Reactions to Anesthesia
The four strategies included combining drugs of multiple therapeutic classes; optimizing the route of analgesia administration; using single agents with two mechanisms of action; and using fixed-dose combinations of opioids.
According to the report, the study showed a reduction of postoperative neuropathic pain when 300 mg of pregabalin, an anticonvulsant with analgesic properties, was administered prior to and for 14 days following total knee arthroplasty in combination with opioid therapy.
The study also showed that optimizing the route of intraoperative and postoperative analgesia could reduce residual pain. Combination therapy with a hyperalgesic agent, such as ketamine, may provide pain relief because opioids can produce hyperalgesia.
Agents that exert analgesic effects via two mechanisms of action may also be useful in preventing chronic postoperative pain. Studies showed that tapentadol, a mu-opioid agonist and norepinephrine inhibitor, produced a greater mean sum pain intensity difference at 24 hours compared with a placebo.
The study also showed that combination opioid drugs could produce comparable analgesia results compared with morphine.
Read the MPR report on post-operative pain control.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Study: Anesthesiologists' Role in Labor, Delivery Misunderstood
ASA's Standards Revision Focusing on Ventilation Methods Set to Take Effect
Dr. Richard Dutton Analyses French Study About Allergic Reactions to Anesthesia