Postoperative pain after lumbar disc surgery: a comparison between parenteral ketorolac and narcotics.

OBJECTIVE

Lumbar discectomy is a common elective surgical procedure but many patients still experience postoperative back pain which may delay hospital discharge. We therefore evaluated the efficacy of a parenteral non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent, ketorolac, for the management of post-surgical pain.

METHODS

Fifty three patients undergoing lumbar discectomy at a Medical School affiliated Veterans Administration hospital were randomly assigned to receive either: 1) 30 mg intramuscular ketorolac upon surgical closure and every 6 hours for 36 hours and narcotic analgesics as needed (PRN); or 2) only narcotic analgesics as needed. A blinded observer recorded the average, minimum and maximum postoperative pain intensity using a Numeric Pain Intensity Scale; total postoperative narcotic consumption, complications, length of hospitalization (from surgery to discharge) and outcome at 6 weeks.

RESULTS

The patients who received ketorolac reported significantly lower average (p < 0.001), minimum (p < 0.001), and maximum (p < 0.001) pain scores than patients receiving only narcotic analgesics. Cumulative narcotic doses (standardized to parenteral morphine) were significantly lower in the ketorolac group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between groups in the frequency of side effects, and no complication specifically associated with ketorolac use was observed. Mean length of hospitalization was significantly shorter (p = 0.05) in patients receiving ketorolac than in patients receiving only narcotics. Six weeks after surgery 5 (19.2%) patients who received only narcotics were troubled by persistent back pain. By contrast, all patients who received ketorolac were free of back pain at follow-up (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that ketorolac, when used with PRN narcotics, is more effective than PRN narcotics alone for postoperative pain following lumbar disc surgery. In addition, this strategy also may contribute to early discharge from hospital after lumbar disc surgery.