Transdermal patch of fentanyl for Post-operative Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Elective Abdominal Hysterectomy

Abstract

Background: Trans-dermal patch of Fentanyl (TPF) was traditionally being utilized for chronic pain. There are limited number of studies on its use in acute postoperative pain. In order to ascertain the effectiveness and safety of TPF for acute postoperative analgesia in
patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy, we therefore designed this study. Materials And Methods: This was a randomized controlled research done at our hospital with 44 individuals who came in for an elective abdominal hysterectomy. Two groups were randomly assigned- fentanyl and placebo and followed for 48 hours postoperatively where Numerical rating score (NRS), time to first rescue analgesia, total requirement of rescue analgesics, hemodynamic parameters, sedation, and side effects were noted from 0 min to 48 hours.
Results: TPF group showed lower NRS scores at 6, 12, 24 and 36 hours which was significant statistically. Additionally, there was a prolonged first rescue analgesic administration and the total requirement of rescue analgesia was less with TPF compared with the placebo group in the first 48 hours which was a statistically significant difference. There was no significant difference related to secondary outcomes & side effects between these two groups statistically. Conclusion: Transdermal patch of fentanyl offers effective
post-operative pain relief, hemodynamic stability, with no side effects in patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy and it can be used when using multimodal analgesia