[Comparative evaluation of preventive analgesia with xefocam, ropivacaine, and transdermal drug delivery system of durogesic in patients after craniotomy].

The goal of this study was to comparatively evaluate the efficacy of pre-emptive analgesia in patients after supra- and infratentorial craniotomy. Three hundred and sixty-two postcraniotomy patients aged 16 to 72 years were recruited in the study. The patients were divided into 5 groups. The first two groups received traditional analgesia on demand with metamizole sodium and ketoprofen (Group 1) or xefocam (Group 2). Groups 3-5 had different preemptive analgesia modes. Scheduled dosing of xefocam (8 mg i.v. 30 min prior to surgery and then 8 mg every 8 hours within 48 hours) was used in Group 3. Group 4 underwent scalp nerve block and skin infiltration with ropivacaine. Group 5 had a scheduled dosing of fentanyl (12-18 hours before surgery, Durogesic was applied to the patient's skin in a dose 25 microg per hour for 3 days). Postoperative pain was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) at 6, 18, 30, 42, and 54 hours after surgery. The patients who received pre-emptive analgesia showed significantly lower VAS scores than those who had traditional analgesia (p < 0.05).