Perioperative Duloxetine for Pain Management After Laparoscopic Hysterectomy: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

To evaluate the effect of perioperative duloxetine on pain management in patients recovering from laparoscopic hysterectomy.

A randomized placebo-controlled trial.

A university hospital.

Of 100 patients enrolled, 80 were randomized 1:1 to receive perioperative duloxetine (n = 40) or placebo (n = 40).

Patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign conditions from November 2017 through March 2018 received 2 doses of 60 mg duloxetine or placebo 2 hours before and 24 hours after surgery.

The Quality of Recovery (QoR)-40 questionnaire was completed by participants after discharge. Study and control groups were compared in terms of questionnaire scores, opioid analgesic use, and hospital length of stay. The baseline characteristics of the groups were comparable; median total QoR-40 scores were 111 of 200 and 112 of 200 for duloxetine and the placebo group, respectively; the difference did not reach statistical significance (p = .91). Although the physical independence subcomponent of the recovery questionnaire was improved in favor of duloxetine, none of the subcomponents reached statistical difference between groups. The groups did not differ in terms of postoperative narcotic analgesic use and hospital length of stay (p >.05).

Perioperative duloxetine did not reduce pain, need for narcotic analgesia, or hospital length of stay following laparoscopic hysterectomy.