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Intravenous ketorolac as an adjuvant to pediatric patient-controlled analgesia with morphine

T R Vetter1, E J Heiner

  • 1Department of Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Akron, OH.

Insights

A single dose of intravenous ketorolac reduced morphine use and pain scores in pediatric patients. This intervention also decreased urinary retention, improving postoperative recovery during patient-controlled analgesia.

Area of Science:

  • Anesthesiology and Pain Management
  • Pediatric Surgery
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Postoperative pain management in children often involves patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with morphine.
  • Opioid-related side effects and dose requirements are significant concerns in pediatric PCA.
  • Non-opioid analgesics are explored to optimize pain control and reduce opioid burden.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of a single intraoperative dose of intravenous ketorolac on postoperative opioid consumption.
  • To assess the effect of ketorolac on patient-reported pain quality during pediatric PCA.
  • To determine the influence of ketorolac on the incidence of opioid-related side effects in pediatric surgical patients.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective, randomized, double-blind study conducted in a children's hospital.
  • 50 orthopedic surgical patients (ages 8-16) received either intravenous ketorolac or placebo at wound closure.
  • All patients utilized morphine PCA postoperatively, with pain scores and side effects monitored for 12 hours.

Main Results:

  • Patients receiving ketorolac required significantly less morphine via PCA in the first 12 hours postoperatively (p = 0.002).
  • The ketorolac group reported significantly lower visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores (p < 0.01).
  • A significant reduction in urinary retention was observed in the ketorolac group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.02).

Conclusions:

  • Intraoperative intravenous ketorolac effectively reduces opioid requirements in pediatric PCA.
  • Ketorolac administration improves postoperative analgesia quality in pediatric surgical patients.
  • A single dose of ketorolac decreases the incidence of urinary retention, a common opioid-related side effect.
Abstract

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