Oxycodone is safe and effective for general anesthesia.

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Pharmacology
• Orthopedic Surgery

Background:

• Multiple opioid analgesics are commonly used in anesthesia and postoperative care.
• Limiting to a single opioid may reduce adverse drug interactions and side effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the safety and efficacy of using oxycodone as a sole opioid in orthopedic surgery patients undergoing general anesthesia.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of 83 orthopedic patients who received intravenous oxycodone as the only analgesic during general anesthesia.
• Safety was assessed via hemodynamic monitoring, ECG, oxygen saturation, and adverse event recording.

Main Results:

• No significant changes in oxygen saturation or ECG were observed.
• Minor heart rate changes occurred; blood pressure remained stable.
• 59% of patients reported postoperative pain scores ≤3/10, with 45% requiring additional analgesics.
• No severe adverse events were recorded, and nausea scores were generally low.

Conclusions:

• Oxycodone can be safely and effectively used as a single opioid in orthopedic surgery.
• This approach shows good intraoperative and postoperative efficacy without clinically relevant hemodynamic or respiratory compromise.