Comparison of Oral Gabapentin and Pregabalin in Postoperative Pain Control After Photorefractive Keratectomy
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2013-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Purpose: To compare the efficacy of oral gabapentin and its newer analogue pregabalin in
postoperative pain control after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).
Methods: One hundred and four patients who meet the inclusion criteria undergoing PRK in one
or both eyes will be randomized into one of two treatment groups. Those in group A will be
treated with gabapentin, and those in group B will be treated with pregabalin to control
postoperative PRK pain. Patients in both groups will begin treatment two hours prior to
surgery in order to achieve therapeutic blood levels of each medication. After surgery the
patients will assess their pain level using the visual analogue scale (VAS) at different
intervals of time - one hour after surgery, the evening of the surgery, and three times each
day for three subsequent days. Patients will also daily assess their level of somnolence
using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and record the presence of dizziness for the same
amount of time. On the fourth day they will return to clinic for a postoperative appointment.
At that time the pain, sleepiness, and dizziness assessment scales will be collected and
analyzed. The patients will return one month later to further assess long-term pain and
healing after PRK.
Results: Both gabapentin and pregabalin have been shown in previous studies to treat
postoperative pain effectively. The effects of gabapentin 300 mg TID for 3 days versus
pregabalin 50 mg TID for 3 days on decreasing overall postoperative pain following PRK will
be presented.
Conclusion: The effectiveness of the two different treatment medications will be analyzed,
and the conclusion will be based on the results.