OBJECTIVE Intravenous ibuprofen is used to control fever and pain. This study aimed to assess the analgesic effects of the addition of intravenous ibuprofen to a multimodal analgesia regimen for… Click to show full abstract
OBJECTIVE Intravenous ibuprofen is used to control fever and pain. This study aimed to assess the analgesic effects of the addition of intravenous ibuprofen to a multimodal analgesia regimen for pain management after pediatric cardiac surgery. DESIGN A randomized, controlled, double-blinded, superiority study. SETTING University hospital. PARTICIPANTS Seventy-eight pediatric patients who underwent open cardiac surgery using midline sternotomy incision were screened for eligibility; 10 patients were excluded, leaving 68 patients (34 patients in the ibuprofen group and 34 patients in the control group) for final data analysis. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomly allocated to either the ibuprofen group, in which the patient received intravenous ibuprofen infusion of 10 mg/kg/6 hours for 24 hours, or the control group, in which the patient received a placebo 0.9% saline. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The primary endpoint was the 24-hour postoperative fentanyl consumption, and the secondary endpoints were postoperative modified objective pain score and the incidence of ibuprofen-related side effects (eg, vomiting, epigastric pain, bleeding, and renal dysfunction). The mean total fentanyl consumption (μg/kg) during the first postoperative 24 hours after extubation was significantly lower (p<0.001) in the ibuprofen group (3.5 ± 1.3) than the control group (5.1 ± 1.4). The median postoperative modified objective pain score was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the ibuprofen group than the control group at 0 hours, 2 hours, 12 hours, 16 hours, 20 hours, and 24 hours postoperatively. Ibuprofen did not cause significant increases in the incidences of bleeding, epigastric pain, and vomiting. Postoperative renal dysfunction was not reported in any patient. CONCLUSIONS The addition of intravenous ibuprofen to a multimodal analgesia regimen for pain management after pediatric cardiac surgery improved postoperative analgesia in terms of reduction of opioid consumption and pain scores.
               
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