A COMPARISON OF PREEMPTIVE GABAPENTIN WITH PREGABALIN FOR RELIEF OF POSTOPERATIVE PAIN IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHOLECYSTECTOMY.

Objective: To compare the mean time duration of patient's first request for analgesic for pain relief after open cholecystectomy with preoperative use of pregabalin or gabapentin. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of anesthesia, Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar during a period of six months, from May 2014 to Nov 2014. Material and Methods: This study included a total of 126 patients with clinical and ultrasound diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Patients were distributed randomly into two groups equally (63 patients in each group). Group A was given 300mg pregabalin and group B was given 900mg gabapentin one hour before surgery by mouth. Results: Mean age was 46.68 ± 8.074 years for group A and 46.33 ± 8.046 years for group B. In group A, there were 49.2% males and 50.8% females while in group B, there were 42.9% males and 57.1% females. Weight of patients was 68.54 ± 6.283 kg in group A and 69.75 ± 5.778 kg in group B respectively. Mean time duration score was 37.48 ± 7.175 minutes and 18.27 ± 3.366 minutes in group A and B, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: Preoperative use of pregabalin provides significantly prolonged postoperative analgesia compared to gabapentin after open cholecystectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]