The Effect Of Preoperative Gabapentin on Pain Severity After Posterior Urethral Surgery: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Purpose: Prevention and treatment of postoperative pain is a major challenge in posterior urethroplasty surgery. Gabapentin can control postoperative pain by preventing excessive sensitivity of the central nervous system. In this study, we aimed to evalate the effect of gabapentin compared with placebo on reducing patients’ pain following posterior urethroplasty. Material and Methods: This prospective, randomized, double-blind study was performed in Shohada-e-Tajrish hospital. A total of 100 patients who were candidates of posterior urethral stricture were included. Patients were then randomly assigned into two groups (n=50 in each group) and received either single-dose Gabapentin or placebo, preoperatively. Then, all patients underwent posterior urethroplasty. Using the visual analog scale (VAS), the level of patients’ postoperative pain was assessed at two hours,four hours, six hours,eight hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours after surgery. Results: There was a significant difference in the VAS pain scores after two hours, four hours, six hours, eight hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours post-surgery (P <0.001). This resulted in a significant decrease in morphine consumption in the gabapentin group compared with the placebo group (P <0.001). Furthermore, post-surgery adverse events such as vomiting, nausea, drowsiness, and pruritus were significantly less frequent in the gabapentin group versus the placebo group. Conclusion: The results of our study revealed that gabapentin can control postoperative pain after posterior urethroplasty, decrease the need for opioid consumption, an reduce the occurrence of post-surgery adverse events such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, and pruritus.