Effects of preemptive analgesia using continuous subcutaneous morphine for postoperative pain in scoliosis surgery: a randomized study

Abstract

The authors evaluated prospectively the efficacy and safety of continuous subcutaneous morphine administration for postoperative analgesia after posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation for idiopathic scoliosis. Thirty patients were given the subcutaneous morphine infusion (20 mg/day), and 20 patients were not given morphine (control group). Postoperative pain control was assessed using a verbal response score (VRS) and a visual analog pain scale (VAS). The number of times the patient requested supplemental analgesics was also evaluated. VRS and VAS measurements were significantly lower in the continuous subcutaneous morphine group compared with the control group. Also, analgesic consumption in the continuous subcutaneous morphine group was lower than that of the control group. There was no respiratory depression or constipation. Preemptive analgesia using continuous subcutaneous infusion of morphine is a simple, safe, and effective method to control postoperative pain after posterior instrumentation and spinal fusion for idiopathic scoliosis.