Preemptive combined preventive delivery of flurbiprofen axetil produced effective analgesia after lumpectomy

Background

Preoperative and intraoperative administration of analgesics was considered an effective way to suppress postoperative pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic efficacy of flurbiprofen axetil administered preemptively plus preventively in the earlier period of lumpectomy.

Methods

Four hundred ASA I–II patients, undergoing lumpectomy, were screened and 236 were randomly assigned into one of two groups (n = 118). In the flurbiprofen group, patients received an i.v. injection of flurbiprofen 50 mg 15 min before the start and the end of the operation, separately. The placebo group received the same volumes of saline before the start and the end of the operation. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain intensity at rest, overall satisfaction score, additional morphine consumption and side effects were recorded.

Results

A total of 196 patients completed the study. Subjects received flurbiprofen experienced significant pain relief and improvement of the feeling of satisfaction at the first 24 h after surger. The additional morphine was consumed [8.5 mg (95% CI 4.2–12.4) in the saline group vs. 1.1 mg (95% CI 0.7–2.5) in the flurbiprofen group, p = 0.046]. No intergroup difference was observed in the incidence of side effects.

Conclusion

Preemptive combined preventive administration of flurbiprofen axetil showed effective analgesia significantly up to 24 h after lumpectomy and suggested it is a reliable analgesic for acute postoperative pain therapy.