COMPARISON OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PATIENT CONTROLLED ANALGESIA AND PAIN PUMP VERSUS PATIENT CONTROLLED ANALGESIA FOLLOWING SURGERY FOR ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS

Özet

Objective: The pain control is a difficult and tedious process following a surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Although there are many treatment methods used to relieve pain, the pain is not completely controlled yet. This study was aimed to compare the effectiveness of intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCA) and a combination of PCA and pain pump (PP) (PP + PCA) used after surgery for AIS. Materials and Methods: In the present study, the results of patients at the age of 12 to 22 years, who had an AIS surgery between 2016 and 2019 at our clinic, were retrospectively reviewed. The patients’ postoperative pain scores, need for opioids, time to walk, and discharge time were compared. Results: The results of 83 patients (Group PCA, n=34; Group PP + PCA, n=49) that met the study criteria were compared. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at the postoperative 6th and 12th hours were lower in the group PP + PCA (p 0.05). The time to walk for the group PP + PCA was significantly earlier than for the group PCA (2.67±0.99 vs. 3.68±0.94, p<0.0001). As for discharge time, the group PP + PCA was discharged earlier than the group PCA (8.00±2.03 vs. 10.00±4.56, p=0.045). With regard to the postoperative use of opioids, the use by the group PP + PCA was less than the group PCA at the end of both 24th hour and 48th hour (p<0.001). Conclusion: Following surgery for AIS, PP + PCA is a good choice for postoperative analgesia in the early postoperative period (the first 12 hours), reducing postoperative use of opioids and allowing patients to walk and to be discharged earlier.