Evaluation of a single preoperative dose of etoricoxib for postoperative pain relief in therapeutic knee arthroscopy: A randomized trial

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 analge...