• Alexander Kogan, Benjamen Medalion, Ehud Raanani, Erez Sharoni, Alon Stamler, Natalia Pak, Bernardo A Vidne, and Leonid A Eidelman.
• Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tiqwa 49100, Israel. alexanderkogan140@hotmail.com
• Can J Anaesth. 2007 Apr 1;54(4):254-61.

PurposeOral analgesia after "fast-track" cardiac anesthesia has not been explored. The aim of this study was to compare two oral oxycodone analgesic regimens.MethodsOne hundred-twenty patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting were randomly assigned postoperatively to receive immediate-release oxycodone 5 mg and acetaminophen 325 mg (Percocet-5) (group I) per os four times daily, or controlled-release oxycodone 10 mg (OxyContin) (group II) per os every 12 hr and placebo twice daily. Acetaminophen 500 mg per os was used as first-line rescue medication, and immediate-release oxycodone (syrup form) 5 mg per os as second-line rescue medication. Pain intensity was assessed with a visual analogue scale on the first postoperative day, the morning after extubation, and thereafter four times daily for four days. Use of rescue medication and adverse events were recorded.ResultsBaseline demographic and operation-related characteristics were similar in both groups. While pain control was good in both groups, the immediate-release group experienced less pain on all postoperative days (P = 0.003), required significantly less rescue medication, and had fewer adverse effects such as somnolence and nausea.ConclusionPeroral oxycodone is effective for early pain control after fast-track cardiac anesthesia. Immediate-release oxycodone/ acetaminophen appears to provide better analgesia and fewer side effects compared to controlled-release oxycodone.

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