Failure of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and indomethacin to reduce opiate requirement following cholecystectomy.

This randomized study examined the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and indomethacin on postoperative opiate requirement in 60 patients after cholecystectomy. An open intravenous bolus of 25 mg of indomethacin followed by an infusion of 5 mg in 1 h, alone or combined with either low or high frequency TENS, was administered during the study period of 16 h. An intravenous bolus of either 5 mg of oxycodone or 0.15 mg of buprenorphine was administered double blindly for postoperative pain relief. The number of doses of buprenorphine given (3, 9) differed (P = 0.01) from the number of doses of oxycodone given (5, 4). Neither indomethacin nor TENS reduced the postoperative opiate requirement.