A review of preemptive analgesia.

Postoperative pain, although frequently encountered, is often undertreated. A new method of treating postoperative pain is preemptive analgesia, which seeks to prevent or diminish pain before it is caused. A variety of drugs may be used and include nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs, local anesthetics, opioids, and ketamine. They may be given before, during, and after surgery through the oral, intramuscular, intravenous, epidural, intrathecal, and intra-articular routes.