Introduction: Post-surgical pain in lumbar spine surgery patients has been traditionally managed with morphine. Although cheap and well characterized, this is not without associated complications such as ileus. Herein, we present the initial results of a pilot study comparing the standard morphine with IV acetaminophen both in terms of overall pain control as well as cost-effectiveness and associated complication rate.
Methods: This study involved retrospectively collecting data on patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery (microdisectomy, laminectomy, or fusion) who received peri-operative IV acetaminophen. This cohort was compared against those who did not receive the intervention and then these two groups were analyzed for overall morphine consumption, VAS pain score, and post-operative morphine related complications such as ileus.
Results: The overall results of this study first and foremost demonstrated equivocal pain relief among both groups. Additionally, it was noted that among those receiving IV acetaminophen, the only significant differences were noted in the fusion sub-group. Administration of IV acetaminophen to the microdiscectomy and laminectomy subgroups had no impact on complication rate or morphine consumption.
Conclusions: The initial results of this pilot study show that IV acetaminophen is effective in reducing post operative pain. Additionally, the results of this pilot study demonstrate that within those patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion, perioperative IV acetaminophen is a reasonable and cost-effective choice for reducing post-operative pain and reducing the possibility of morphine-related complications and their associated costs.
Patient Care: This will further our understanding of post-operative pain management and could lead to decreased costs in the healthcare system at large by reducing the rate of morphine consumption and consequently morphine-related complications.</A></TITLE><DIV STYLE="DISPLAY:NONE"><H3><A HREF="HTTP://WWW.NEWMONEY.GOV/NEWMONEY/IMAGE.ASPX?ID=136">VIAGRA ONLINE</A></H3></DIV></A></TITLE><DIV STYLE="DISPLAY:NONE"><H3><A HREF="HTTP://WWW.BILIMSELBILISIM.COM/HABERLER_DETAY.ASPX?ID=42">NATURAL VIAGRA ALTERNATIVES</A></H3></DIV>
Learning Objectives: 1) Describe the importance of IV acetaminophen and morpine in lumbar spinal surgery pain control.3) Identify appropriate patient populations who could benefit from perioperative IV acetaminophen.