These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Pre-emptive analgesia: evidence, current status and future directions.
    Author: Katz J.
    Journal: Eur J Anaesthesiol Suppl; 1995 May; 10():8-13. PubMed ID: 7641652.
    Abstract:
    Although some studies of pre-emptive analgesia have reported small reductions in post-operative pain or analgesic consumption in favour of pre-incisional vs. post-incisional or post-operative treatment, most have not demonstrated any benefit at all. This paper reviews recent evidence supporting the effectiveness of pre-emptive analgesia and discusses factors that may be responsible for the lack of consistent results. These factors include problems with the accepted definition of pre-emptive analgesia, the potential pre-emptive analgesic effects of other agents (e.g. opioids, nitrous oxide, pentobarbitone) used routinely as part of the general anaesthetic, the role of post-operative inflammation in initiating and enhancing a state of central sensitization, and the lack of a true placebo control condition. Given the constraints of clinical research and current standards of practice, it is unlikely that studies of pre-emptive analgesia using conventional analgesics or local anaesthetics will yield large reductions in post-operative pain or analgesic consumption. Extending the pre-emptive treatment well into the post-operative period using balanced, multimodal analgesia, may prolong the initial advantage conferred by the pre-operative blockade and possibly interfere with the development of long-lasting pain.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]