Morphine prophylaxis alleviates pain in transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure: A randomized...

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an accepted minimal invasive procedure for the management of complications of portal hypertension.

This study aims to investigate the value of the preemptive administration of morphine, when compared with on-demand morphine, during TIPS.

The present study was a randomized control trial. A total of 49 patients were selected to receive 10 mg of morphine either before the TIPS procedure (group B, n= 26), or on demand when needed during the TIPS procedure (group A, n= 23). The patient's pain was scored using the visual analog scale (VAS) during the procedure. VAS, pain performance, HR, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and SPO2 were recorded at four-time points: before the operation (T0), during the trans-hepatic puncture of the portal vein (T1), during the intrahepatic channel expansion (T2), and when the operation was finished (T3). The duration of the operation was also recorded.

In group A, the proportion of severe pain at T1 was 4.3% (one case), two cases were combined with vagus reflex, and the proportion of severe pain at T2 was 65.2% (15 cases). No severe pain occurred in group B. The VAS score significantly decreased at T1, T2 and T3 in group B, when compared to group A (P< 0.05). HR, systolic pressure and diastolic pressure significantly decreased at T2 and T3 in group B, when compared to group A (P< 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of SPO2 (P> 0.05).

Preemptive analgesia can effectively relieve severe pain during TIPS, improve patient comfort and compliance, ensure a routine procedure, and offer excellent safety, and is simple and effective.