Antidepressants show potential for postoperative pain

Antidepressants show potential for postoperative pain

August 19, 2014

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Dr. Ian Gilron.

By Rosie Hales, Communications Officer

After a systematic review of clinical trials based on administering antidepressants for acute and chronic postsurgical pain, researchers have concluded that more trials are needed to determine whether these drugs should be prescribed for postsurgical pain on a regular basis.

Dr. Ian Gilron, a professor and director of clinical pain research in the Department of Anesthesiology, and his team of seven researchers reviewed 15 trials to determine whether the use of antidepressants for pain relief post-surgery would work more effectively than painkillers such as opioids, local anesthetics, or acetaminophen. 

Clinical trials are often used to answer questions about the efficacy of the off-label uses of drugs. In the case of antidepressants, their effects on postsurgical pain continue to be an area of research interest.

카지노 게임 컬렉션For the past 50 years, it카지노 게임 컬렉션s been observed that antidepressants for other chronic pain conditions relieve pain independently of their effect on depression,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Dr. Gilron, who also works as an attending anesthesiologist at Kingston General Hospital (KGH). 카지노 게임 컬렉션Even with the best available medicines, there are still many people who experience postoperative pain. Reviewing the use of antidepressants to manage this pain was definitely an opportunity to be seized.카지노 게임 컬렉션

Pain around a surgical site can interfere with normal activities like walking; it can also prolong recovery from surgery.

After searching through three databases of trials, first author of the paper and fifth year anesthesiology resident Karen Wong sifted through 1,350 records from three different research databases to select the 15 trials for detailed review.

Trials were selected for review based on a patient카지노 게임 컬렉션s pain at rest and with movement, adverse effects of antidepressants, and other outcomes of using antidepressants for postsurgical pain.

Just over half of the trials examined showed a reduction in pain after use of antidepressants.

카지노 게임 컬렉션These results are more than a coincidence,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Dr. Gilron. 카지노 게임 컬렉션We can conclude from this research review that, while it카지노 게임 컬렉션s premature to formally recommend these drugs be prescribed for pain, more definitive studies on these medications are necessary.카지노 게임 컬렉션

The research review, 카지노 게임 컬렉션Antidepressant drugs for prevention of acute and chronic postsurgical pain: early evidence and recommended future directions,카지노 게임 컬렉션 took three years to complete and has been published in the September 2014 edition of .

The review team also included Imelda Galvin and David Goldstein, both Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s researchers and attending anesthesiologists at KGH; Rachel Phelan, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s Anesthesiology research facilitator; Eija Kalso from Helsinki 카지노게임사이트 in Finland, and Srinivasa Raja from Johns Hopkins 카지노게임사이트.

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