S-ketamine in patient-controlled analgesia reduces opioid consumption in a dose-dependent manner after major lumbar fusion surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
medRxiv Preprint Server – January 22, 2021
Source: medRxiv
Summary
Managing severe pain after major spinal fusion surgery often leads to high opioid use. A clinical trial investigated if adding S-ketamine to patient-controlled pain relief could reduce this. Participants were randomly given different S-ketamine doses or a placebo. The results clearly demonstrated that S-ketamine significantly reduced opioid consumption in a dose-dependent manner, offering a promising strategy to manage postoperative pain with fewer strong painkillers.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Spinal fusion surgery causes severe pain. Strong opioids, commonly used as postoperative analgesics, may have unwanted side effects. S-ketamine may be an effective analgesic adjuvant in opioid patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). However, the optimal adjunct S-ketamine dose to reduce postoperative opioid consumption is still unknown.