Is perioperative pregabalin effective for reducing postoperative pain in major surgery?

BACKGROUND

Pregabalin is a structural analog of γ-aminobutyric acid that may have a role in acute pain management. It has been used in the perioperative context, but there is controversy regarding its real clinical utility.

METHODS

To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, conducted a meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified 21 systematic reviews including 77 randomized trials. We concluded the use of perioperative pregabalin in major surgeries probably does not produce a clinically important decrease in acute postoperative pain. Although it could decrease nausea, postoperative vomiting and opioid requirements, it also produces an increase in sedation.