Prevention of Persistent Postsurgical Pain After Thoracotomy

Summary

Postthoracotomy acute pain is followed by persistent postsurgical pain in 20-30% of the patients, defined as pain that lasts more than 3-6 months after surgery. Acute pain and hyperalgesia around the surgical wound are some of the risk factors associated to the development of chronic pain. Ketamine, as a NMDA antagonist mainly at spinal level, might reduce periincisional hyperalgesia and persistent postsurgical pain after thoracotomy. Therefore, the investigators hypothesized that continuous ketamine infusion at subanesthetic dose would potentiate epidural ropivacaine and fentanyl-induced analgesia after thoracotomy, reduce periincisional hyperalgesia and long-term postoperative pain. To test these hypothesis, the investigators administered a low dose of intravenous ketamine or epidural ketamine or placebo to patients who received an epidural infusion of ropivacaine and fentanyl for postthoracotomy pain.

Timeline

Start

2008-09

Primary completion

2011-10

Completion

2011-12

Publications

• Background De Kock MF, Lavand'homme PM. The clinical role of NMDA receptor antagonists for the treatment of postoperative pain. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2007 Mar;21(1):85-98. doi: 10.1016/j.bpa.2006.12.006.
• Background Suzuki M, Haraguti S, Sugimoto K, Kikutani T, Shimada Y, Sakamoto A. Low-dose intravenous ketamine potentiates epidural analgesia after thoracotomy. Anesthesiology. 2006 Jul;105(1):111-9. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200607000-00020.

Drugs

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