SINGLE DOSE OF ORAL GABAPENTIN FOR PREEMPTIVE ANALGESIA IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING TONSILLECTOMY

Gabapentin has an extensive safety record in the treatment of children with seizures and chronic pain syndromes. A prospective randomized double-blind study was undertaken to establish the efficacy and safety of a single oral dose of Gabapentin for preemptive analgesia in patients undergoing tonsillectomy. The study was conducted on a total of sixty patients (6-16 years) who were randomly allocated into 2 groups, group G (Gabapentin group) and group P (placebo group) who received a single dose of oral gabapentin 10 mg kg body weight syrup or placebo respectively 2 hours before the surgery. Pain assessment was performed using a visual analog pain scale and postoperative sedation was scored using Ramsay sedation score. Side effects like dizziness, postoperative nausea and vomiting were noted. The mean duration of analgesia was higher in the Gabapentin group (10.75 hours vs 4 hours for placebo) which was statistically significant (p0.001). The mean arterial blood pressure (65.61.6 in group G and 69.41.5 in group P) and pulse rate (98.64.3 in group G and 103.15.6 in group P) were significantly lower in Gabapentin group (p0.001). Statistically significant sedation was observed in the Gabapentin group for up to 4 hours in the postoperative period (p0.01). No other significant adverse effects were observed in both the groups. Thus it can be concluded that oral Gabapentin is an effective drug for post-operative pain relief with better haemodynamics, acceptable sedation and safety in the paediatric age group. Keyword :Gabapentin, postoperative pain, tonsillectomy, Preemptive analgesia. SINGLE DOSE OF ORAL GABAPENTIN FOR PREEMPTIVE ANALGESIA IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING TONSILLECTOMY ABSTRACT: Gabapentin has an extensive safety record in the treatment of children with seizures and chronic pain syndromes. A prospective randomized double-blind study was undertaken to establish the efficacy and safety of a single oral dose of Gabapentin for preemptive analgesia in patients undergoing tonsillectomy. The study was conducted on a total of sixty patients (6-16 years) who were randomly allocated into 2 groups, group G (Gabapentin group) and group P (placebo group) who received a single dose of oral gabapentin 10 mg / kg body weight syrup or placebo respectively 2 hours before the surgery. Pain assessment was performed using a visual analog pain scale and postoperative sedation was scored using Ramsay sedation score. Side effects like dizziness, postoperative nausea and vomiting were noted. The mean duration of analgesia was higher in the Gabapentin group (10.75 hours vs 4 hours for placebo) which was statistically significant (p<0.001). The mean arterial blood pressure (65.6±1.6 in group G and 69.4±1.5 in group P) and pulse rate (98.6±4.3 in group G and 103.1±5.6 in group P) were significantly lower in Gabapentin group (p<0.001).Statistically significant sedation was observed in the Gabapentin group for up to 4 hours in the postoperative period (p<0.01). No other significant adverse effects were observed in both the groups. Thus it can be concluded that oral Gabapentin is an effective drug for post-operative pain relief with better hemodynamic, acceptable sedation and safety in the pediatric age group.