Comparison of Oral Pregabalin and Gabapentin on Post Operative Pain Relief in Patients Undergoing Upper Limb Orthopaedic Surgeries: A Prospective Randomized Study

Abstract

Background: Effective post operative pain control is an important aspect of surgery. Pregabalin and gabapentin are effective in neuropathic pain. They are also being popular in multimodal analgesia to provide post operative pain relief.
Aim: To compare the effectiveness of oral Pregabalin vs Gabapentin on post operative pain relief in patients undergoing upper limb orthopaedic surgeries.
Materials and Methods: A total of 60 candidates for elective upper limb surgeries were randomly assigned to gabapentin (n = 30), pregabalin (n = 30), groups. Patients received 800 mg of gabapentin or 150 mg of pregaba lin orally one hour before surgery.. Hemodynamic variables, VAS scores, amount of rescue analgesia and side effects were monitored and compared between the groups.
Results: VAS score was less in Pregabalin Group as compared to Gabapentin group. The amount of rescue analgesic administered was also less in Pregabalin group. There was no statistically significant difference between hemodynamic variables and side effects among the groups.Conclusion: Pregabalin was more effective than Gabapentin in post operative pain relief.