Role of flupirtine as a preemptive analgesic in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background and Aims: Postsurgical pain is the leading complaint after laparoscopic cholecystectomy that may delay the postoperative recovery and hence we undertook a prospective randomized trial to analyze the role of flupirtine as a preemptive analgesic for postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing above surgery. Material and Methods: A total of 66 cases were randomly assigned to two groups to receive capsule flupirtine (200 mg) or capsule vitamin B complex administered orally, 2 h before the laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. Time to first analgesic requirement, assessment of postoperative pain in terms of visual analog score, and analgesic requirement postoperatively were measured as a primary outcome. Results: Time to first analgesic requirement was significantly prolonged in the flupirtine group as compared with the placebo group. There was significant pain reduction in early postoperative period (up to 4 h), but no changes occurred thereafter. Total analgesic requirement (including rescue analgesia) and side-effects were comparable between the groups except for higher sedation in flupirtine group. Conclusions: Flupirtine is effective as a preemptive analgesic in providing adequate pain relief during the immediate postoperative period after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. However, continuation of drug therapy postoperatively could possibly delineate its optimal analgesic profile more profoundly.