Patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures may experience
postoperative pain. Opioids can produce peripheral analgesic effects by
activation of opioid receptors on sensory nerves. This study was designed
to examine a novel route of administration of meperidine, the
intraperitoneal injection (IP). At the end of laparoscopic cholecystectomy
100 patients received 80 ml of 0.125% bupivacaine with 1:200,000
epinephrine IP and 50 mg of meperidine either IP or IM. Postoperative
pain scores were measured at rest and with movement. Pain scores were significantly lower in the group receiving the IP meperidine both at rest
(p<0.01) and with movement (p<0.05). We conclude that the combination
of intraperitoneal bupivacaine and intraperitoneal meperidine was better
than the combination of IP bupivacaine and IM meperidine for
postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic
cholecystectomy. |
