Korean J Pain.  2015 Jul;28(3):198-202. 10.3344/kjp.2015.28.3.198.

Effect of Intravenous Intraoperative Esmolol on Pain Management Following Lower Limb Orthopedic Surgery

• Haghighi M
• Sedighinejad A
• Mirbolook
• Naderi Nabi B
• Farahmand
• Kazemnezhad Leili E
• Shirvani M
• Khajeh Jahromi S

• KMID: 2149464
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3344/kjp.2015.28.3.198

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Lack of proper control of acute postoperative pain often leads to lingering or chronic pain. Several studies have emphasized the role of beta-blockers in reducing postoperative pain. Esmolol is a selective short-acting beta-blocker that produces few side effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of intravenous intraoperative esmolol on postoperative pain reduction following orthopedic leg fracture surgery.
METHODS
In a clinical trial, 82 patients between 20-65 years of age with tibia fractures and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I & II who underwent surgery were divided into two groups. Group A received esmolol and group B received normal saline. Postoperative pain was measured at three time points: entering the recovery unit, and at 3 h and 6 h following surgery, using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). A P value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS
Mean VAS scores at all three time points were significantly different between the two test groups (P = 0.02, P = 0.0001, and P = 0.0001, respectively). The consumption of pethidine was lower in group A than in group B (P = 0.004) and the duration of its effect was significantly longer in time (P = 0.026).
CONCLUSIONS
Intravenous intraoperative esmolol is effective in the reduction of postoperative pain following leg fracture surgery. It reduced opioid consumption following surgery and delayed patient requests for analgesics.

Keyword

Esmolol; Meperidine; Orthopedic surgery; Pain management; Pain measurement; Postoperative pain; Tibial fractures; Visual analog scale

MeSH Terms

Analgesics
Chronic Pain
Humans
Leg
Lower Extremity*
Meperidine
Orthopedics*
Pain Management*
Pain Measurement
Pain, Postoperative
Tibia
Tibial Fractures
Visual Analog Scale
Analgesics
Meperidine

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Consort flow diagram.

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