Evaluation of a single preoperative dose of etoricoxib for postoperative pain relief in therapeutic knee arthroscopy

Background and purpose Analgesics can have undesirable effects.

We assessed whether a single preoperative dose of 120 mg etoricoxib reduces the need for additional opioids after therapeutic arthroscopic knee surgery.

Methods A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed at a single center. 66 patients scheduled to undergo elective therapeutic knee arthroscopy were included. They were randomly selected to be given either 120 mg of etoricoxib (n = 33) or placebo (n = 33) 1 hour before induction of general anesthesia. A patient-controlled analgesia device was used postoperatively. We recorded total postoperative morphine consumption over 24 h, degree of pain as assessed with a visual analog scale, degree of satisfaction, and occurrence of adverse effects.

Results Mean total morphine consumption during the first 24 h was 24 (9–60) mg in the placebo group and 9 (0–34) mg in the etoricoxib group. In the etoricoxib group, pain intensity levels at rest were reduced and patient satisfaction with the analgesia provided was higher during the first postoperative day. There was no difference in the incidence of typical adverse effects of opioids in the 2 groups.

Interpretation Etoricoxib is a suitable premedication to use before therapeutic arthroscopic knee surgery, as it reduced patients’ morphine requirements.