The Pre-Emptive Administration Of Ketamine for Controlling Post-thoracotomy Pain

About This Study

The goal of this paper is to evaluate whether the pre-emptive administration of Ketamine would potentiate the effect of intravenous morphine analgesia in management of post thoracotomy pain. This was a single center, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel-group, prospective study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 1 mg/kg ketamine (Ketamine Group) or an equivalent dose of normal saline (Placebo Group) before thoracotomy in 1:1 ratio. All patients received postoperatively intravenous morphine administration as additional analgesic regimen Primary end-point was pain relief measured with Visual Analogue Scale at rest. The secondary end-points were the reduction of inflammatory response expressed by plasma c-reactive protein levels, the morphine consumption, and the rate of side effects. The measurements were carried out 6; 12; 24; 36; and 48 post operative hours.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• •Ketamine
• •Normal Saline

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* aged more than 18 years old,
* planned for an elective partial pneumonectomy (partial or total lobectomy involving one or more lobes, except total pneumonectomy)
* standard lateral thoracotomy for management of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Exclusion Criteria:

* allergy to Ketamine
* ASA score more than 3
* previous thoracic surgical procedures or lung resection
* mental disease
* participation to other studies
* lack of written informed consent.

Study Locations (1)