title: Preemptive use of gabapentin significantly decreases postoperative pain and rescue analgesic requirements in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the comparative preemptive effects of gabapentin and tramadol on postoperative pain and fentanyl requirement in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred fifty-nine ASA I and II patients were randomly assigned to receive 300 mg gabapentin, 100 mg tramadol or placebo in a double-blind manner two hours before laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia. Postoperatively, patients' pain scores were recorded on a visual analogue scale every two hours for the initial 12 hr and thereafter every three hours for the next 12 hr. Patients received fentanyl 2 micro g*kg(-1) intravenously on demand. The total fentanyl consumption for each patient was recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients in the gabapentin group had significantly lower pain scores at all time intervals (2.65 +/- 3.00, 1.99 +/- 1.48, 1.40 +/- 0.95, 0.65 +/- 0.61) in comparison to tramadol (2.97 +/- 2.35, 2.37 +/- 1.45, 1.89 +/- 1.16, 0.87 +/- 0.50) and placebo (5.53 +/- 2.22, 3.33 +/- 1.37, 2.41 +/- 1.19, 1.19 +/- 0.56). Significantly less fentanyl was consumed in the gabapentin group (221.16 +/- 52.39 micro g) than in the tramadol (269.60 +/- 44.17 micro g) and placebo groups (355.86 +/- 42.04 micro g; P < 0.05). Sedation (33.98%), nausea/retching/vomiting (24.8%) were the commonest side effects in the gabapentin group whereas respiratory depression (3.9%) was the commonest in the tramadol group and vertigo (7.8%) in the placebo group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preemptive use of gabapentin significantly decreases postoperative pain and rescue analgesic requirement in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Biostatistics, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India. ckpandy@sgpgi.ac.in
authors.forename: Chandra Kant
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Shio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Priye
authors.forename: Surendra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Uttam
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Ram Badan
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Prabhat Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000588:Amines; D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods; D000700:Analgesics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005283:Fentanyl / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077206:Gabapentin; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013997:Time Factors; D014147:Tramadol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D000588:Amines; D000700:Analgesics; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D014147:Tramadol; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000077206:Gabapentin; D005283:Fentanyl