Effects of intraoperative-intrathecal sufentanil injection on postoperative pain management after single level lumbar discectomy

ABSTRACT

For lumbar disc operation a chain of painful procedures including skin incision, muscle dissection and sometimes laminectomy should be performed. The combination of these manoeuvres results in significant post-operative pain. The standard way to reduce post-operative pain consist of intra-operative injection of local anaesthetic [Bupivicaine or Lidocaine] to the superficial tissues and intravenous, oral or rectal prescription of Opioid analgesics or other analgesics after operation, but inadequate analgesia, constipation and delayed mobilisation are frequent side effect of those treatments. The goal of this study was to reduce postoperative pain of patients which causes a reduction in analgesic consumption and eventually shortened hospital stay and acceleration in physical therapy programs and ambulation. After ethical comitte approval, patients allocated in two groups A and B. Each group consisted 30 patients which all of them underwent general anesthesia. All of operations performed by same surgeon... After discectomy and at the end of surgerybased on patients odd or even number of hospital admission, one group [group-A] received sufentanil [Iranian pharmaceutic company] 0.05/kg intrathecaly injected in surgical level and the placebo group [group-B] normal saline was injected. In recovery room when patients were sufficiently awake for pain assessment, patients were asked to score pain on the verbal pain assessment score In both groups we compaired pain scores pre and postoperativly. The total dose of opioid requirement for patients and its time after operation was recorded