Effects of Preincisional Ketamine on Postoperative Pain after Laparoscopic Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy

Lee, Yoon Sook; Kim, Woon Young; Cha, Moon Ho; Kim, Jong Hyuk; Kim, Jae Hwan; Park, Young Cheol; Lim, Hae Ja; Lee, Bong Jae

Clinical Research

Obstetric Anesthesia

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2006;1(1):44-47.
Published online July 30, 2006.

Effects of Preincisional Ketamine on Postoperative Pain after Laparoscopic Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy

Yoon Sook Lee, Woon Young Kim, Moon Ho Cha, Jong Hyuk Kim, Jae Hwan Kim, Young Cheol Park, Hae Ja Lim, Bong Jae Lee

¹Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ckssis@korea.ac.kr
²Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Kyunghee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
We evaluated the effect of preincisional injection of a small dose of ketamine on postoperative pain after laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH). METHODS: Fourty patients undergoing LAVH were randomly allocated to one of two groups. Group K received ketamine 0.5 mg/kg IV. Group N received normal saline IV as a control group. Postoperative pain was rated at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hr postoperatively by visual analog scale (VAS). The incidence of patients requiring analgesics in the PACU and on the ward, the time to the first analgesic request and side effects were recorded. RESULTS: At 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hr after surgery, patients in the group K had significantly lower VAS than those in the group N (P < 0.05). The incidence of patients requiring analgesics in the postanesthetic care unit (PACU) and on the ward was not significantly different in the group K compared with group N. There were no significant differences in the first analgesic request time and the incidence of side effects in both group. CONCLUSIONS: Preincisional treatment with ketamine 0.5 mg/kg IV reduces postoperative pain after LAVH.

Key Words: ketamine, laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH), postoperative pain