A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia found that opioid-free anesthesia is “non-inferior” to opioid-based anesthesia when it comes to acute postoperative pain for low-risk adult patients.
The single-center study evaluated 154 adults in categories I and II the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Physical Status Classification System from March 2022 to February 2024. Patients were undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery and were identified as low-risk.
Here are seven takeaways from the study:
1. The primary outcome was the difference between the opioid-free anesthesia and standard-of-care groups in worst acute postoperative pain in the post-anesthesia care unit.
2. The OFA group reported pain scores of 4.8 on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale.
3. The SOC group reported pain of levels of 4.6.
4. The worst pain at 24 hours post-procedure was 5.7 in the OFA group and 5.0 in the SOC group, and 5.6 versus 5.3 during movement, respectively.
5. There was no significant difference between groups in the quality of recovery at 24 hours post-procedure, nor at three or six months, either with rest or movement.
6. The OFA group also required fewer rescue opioids in the PACU.
7. “Our study showed that the need for rescue opioids in the PACU (in OFA group) was reduced,” one of the researchers wrote. “In fact, only a few patients required conversion to opioid-based analgesia, and the OFA regimen proved safe.”
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