title: The effect of pre-emptive analgesia on the level of postoperative pain in women undergoing surgery for breast neoplasm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dynamic development of research on pain has resulted in the formulation of the concept of pre-emptive analgesia, which involves administration of analgesics before the first pain-producing stimulus appears. It is meant to prevent increased sensitivity to pain in the postoperative period. The aim of this study was to assess the possibilities of modifying the intensity of postoperative pain evaluated with the visual analogue scale (VAS) in patients after surgical treatment for breast neoplasm offered by pre-emptive analgesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The intensity of postoperative pain was measured immediately after the surgery as well as 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours later in 100 women who had undergone surgery for breast tumour. The correlation between experienced pain and the type of analgesic administered pre-emptively, including metamizole, tramadol, ketoprofen, and placebo was examined. The effect of other correlates such as the extensiveness of surgery, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate on the level of experienced pain as well as the usefulness of physiological parameters for its assessment were also analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The conducted study demonstrated the effectiveness of tramadol (p = 0.004) and ketoprofen (p = 0.039) administered half an hour before the beginning of surgery, but there was no similar effect in the case of metamizole (p = 1.0). A positive correlation was observed between the level of experienced pain and blood pressure values (p < 0.001). Heart rate does not seem to be significantly linked with the intensity of experienced pain (p = 0.157).
authors.affiliation: Chair of Oncology and Environmental Health Care, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Węgorowski
authors.affiliation: Chair of Oncology and Environmental Health Care, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stanisławek
authors.affiliation: Chair of Oncology and Environmental Health Care, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Domżał-Drzewicka
authors.affiliation: The Second Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Justyna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sysiak
authors.affiliation: Chair of Oncology and Environmental Health Care, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rząca
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Applied Psychology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Milanowska
authors.affiliation: Chair of Public Health, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janiszewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Modelling and Metal Forming Technologies, Lublin University of Technology, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dziubińska
keywords: breast cancer; postoperative pain; preemptive analgesia