The following is a summary of “Are There Any Advantages of the Low Opioid Anaesthesia and Non-Opioid Postoperative Analgesia Protocol: A Clinical Observational Study,” published in the March 2024 issue of Pain by Kościuczuk, et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to describe the effects of low-opioid and opioid-free anesthesia (LOA/OFA) on postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pain control during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
They involved 40 patients in the LOA group, and an additional 40 patients were assigned to the control group, receiving general anesthesia with opioid analgesia (OA). The LOA routine consisted of ketamine, lidocaine, magnesium sulfate, paracetamol, and metamizole, whereas the OA routine included standard opioid (fentanyl) delivery in both induction and maintenance stages. After surgery, pain was managed by giving 1 gram of paracetamol and 1 gram of metamizole through intravenous injection every 6 hours.
The results showed significant differences in pain levels between groups within 2–6, 6–12, and 12–24 hours after anesthesia (P<0.001). A notable difference was observed in the frequency of nausea (P=0.005) and vomiting (P=0.04) between the groups. About 54.05% of the OA group experienced nausea, compared to 23.08% in the LOA group. About 32.43% of the control group encountered vomiting, compared to 12.82% of the patients in the study group.
Investigators concluded that LOA/OFA reduced nausea and vomiting and improved pain control post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy compared to traditional methods.
