Gabapentinoids for Postoperative Pain

Guidelines endorse use of gabapentinoids (i.e., gabapentin and pregabalin) as part of multimodal pain management after surgery; however, evidence to support this practice is largely from small trials of patients undergoing specific procedures (e.g., laparoscopic cholecystectomy). In this U.K. study, researchers randomized 1200 patients who underwent a variety of cardiac, thoracic, and abdominal surgeries to receive gabapentin (single dose of 600 mg prior to surgery, followed by 300 mg twice daily for 2 days after surgery) or placebo.