Pregabalin versus bromazepam as a sedative in embryotransfer during in-vitro fertilization

Background The majority of infertile women are young and healthy but exhibit stress, anxiety, and other psychological disorders associated with infertility. This anxiety should be attenuated with appropriate drugs during premedication. Moreover, after the procedure, patients report visceral pain resulting from cervical manipulation, which should be relieved with appropriate analgesia. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy of oral premedicationwith pregabalin and bromazepam for sedation in terms of effectiveness and postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing embryo transfer during in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Patients and methodsA total of 60 healthy infertile consented female patients younger than 39 years with ASA physical status I or II who were scheduled for embryo transfer during IVF were randomized to receive either pregabalin (300 mg) (group A), bromazepam (3 mg) (group B), or placebo (folic acid 0.5 mg) (group C) 90 min before surgery as oral premedication. The Ramsay sedation scale was used to evaluate preoperative sedation. Hemodynamic data were recorded before premedication, just after induction, after recovery, and 2 and 4 h postoperatively. Severity of postoperative pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS).ResultsPerioperative sedation levels were lighter in the pregabalin group than in the bromazepam group, as there were statistically significant differences in terms of attenuation in mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate. Moreover, VAS score was significantly lower in the pregabalin group at induction, recovery, and 2 and 4 h after surgery.ConclusionThis study showed that the use of pregabalin 300 mg or bromazepam 3 mg causes good preoperative sedation with hemodynamic stability intraoperatively together with decreasingpostoperative pain in embryo transfer during IVF procedure.