Efficacy of early intravenous bolus oxycodone or fentanyl in emergence from general anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia following laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized trial.

OBJECTIVES

To compare prospectively the efficacy of early intravenous bolus of oxycodone or fentanyl in providing analgesia at emergence from general anaesthesia following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

METHODS

Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 0.08 mg/kg oxycodone (Group O) or 1 µg/kg fentanyl (Group F), 20 min before the end of surgery. Postoperative pain was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The time to first postoperative analgesic dose, requirement for analgesia and side-effects were assessed in the postanaesthesia care unit (PACU).

RESULTS

The VAS scores at 0 min and 30 min and requirement for analgesia were significantly lower in Group O (n = 28) than in Group F (n = 26). The time to first analgesia dose was significantly longer in Group O than Group F. There were no significant between-group differences in the incidence of side-effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxycodone relieves immediate postoperative pain significantly better than fentanyl, and is not associated with an increase in side-effects in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.