Effects of single-dose pregabalin on postoperative pain in dacryocystorhinostomy surgery

Postoperative pain of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCA) surgery is one of the serious issues to be considered. Administrating opioids to relieve postoperative pain and facing their increasing side effects in eye surgeries, make the use of non-opioid drugs inevitable.

The present study examined the efficacy of pregabalin in alleviating the postoperative pain of DCA surgery.

The present study has been carried out as a double-blind, randomized clinical trial on the patient candidates for DCR. The patients were randomly divided in to two groups of pregabalin and placebo. Patients in pregabalin group received 300 mg of pregabalin, an hour before the operation in the morning of the surgery. Pain intensity on visual analog scale (VAS) was recorded until 24 hours after the operation; also the rate of administrated opioids and nausea/vomiting frequency were recorded during the first 24-hour period after the operation and the resultsof the two groups were compared.

Postoperative pain intensity in the pregabalin group at the time of recovery was significantly lower than that of the placebo group (P = 0.001) until 24 hours after the surgery. In the pregabalin group 17.5% of the patients received opioids while in the placebo group the figure was 52.5% (P = 0.001). Nausea frequency was also higher in the placebo group than the pregabalin group (P = 0.003).

A single 300 mg dose of pregabalin, an hour before DCA can effectively reduce pain intensity and also reduce opioid dose and nausea/vomiting.