Pre-emptive analgesia with preoperative oral gabapentin and pregabalin in lumbar narrow canal surgery

The success of pre-emption depends on the strategy pertaining to the choice of agent and when and how, to use. This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of preemptive analgesia regarding the postoperative pain management in lumbar spinal stenosis surgery. The oral gabapentin 800 mg or pregabalin 225 mg or placebo were administered 1 h before surgery. The pain and sedation scores were measured through Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS). Three groups of 30 patients each were included in the study. Group 1 was administered with gabapentin 800 mg, Group 2 with pregabalin 225 mg, and Group 3 with placebo 1 hour before the surgery. VAS scores at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd and 24th hours of surgery, and RSS scores and analgesic drug usage in the 1st to 24 hours of surgery were recorded. There were statistically significant differences between the 1st, 2nd and 4th hour VAS score averages. RSS scores changed among the three groups in postoperative period. The total analgesics employed in gabapentin and pregabalin groups were lower than those in placebo group. Pre-emptive analgesia of oral pregabalin or gabapentin minimized the postoperative pain in patients undergoing lumbar stenosis surgery.