Opioid-Free Anesthesia for Craniotomy

Perioperative opioids are problematic following craniotomy as they can impede neurological examination because of excessive sedation and mask surgical complications. Multimodal anesthetic techniques including nerve blocks have been used successfully to deliver opioid-free anesthesia in other surgical populations; however, no clinical data evaluating opioid-free anesthesia for craniotomy exists within the current body of literature.

Six prospectively identified patients underwent supratentorial craniotomy at Emory University Hospital using a multimodal opioid-free anesthetic (OFA) technique consisting of preoperative scalp block, dexmedetomidine and intravenous acetaminophen. These opioid-free patients were matched by age, sex, incision length, and incision location to 18 retrospectively identified control patients who underwent craniotomy using conventional, opioid-based anesthetic techniques. Postoperative opioid consumption and pain scores were compared and analyzed for noninferiority.

Noninferiority of the OFA technique was demonstrated for opioid consumption at all measured intervals from postanesthesia care unit arrival to 24 hours postoperatively. Noninferiority was also demonstrated with respect to average postoperative pain scores from 0 to 12 hours, 0 to 24 hours, as well as length of postanesthesia care unit stay. Noninferiority was not shown for time to first rescue opioid postoperatively, pain scores for the 12 to 24 hours postoperative period, or time to emergence from anesthesia.

This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of an OFA technique for patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy and suggests that larger prospective randomized controlled trials are indicated to examine the role of multimodal anesthetic techniques for craniotomy.