Incidence of Chronic Postoperative Surgical Pain After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Comparison Between Dexmedetomidine-fentanyl and Propofol-fentanyl Based Total Intravenous Anesthesia

Background: The combination of fentanyl to dexmedetomidine or propofol provides complete and balanced anesthesia and has advantages such as high potency, lower dosages, and fewer side effects. The research studies to describe the effect of type of anesthesia on CPSP after laparoscopic cholecystectomy are sparse. Objective: The present study was undertaken to compare the incidence of CPSP after two different types of TIVA using propofol-fentanyl and dexmedetomidine-fentanyl-based anesthesia. Materials and methods: After IEC clearance, 100 patients of ASA I&II undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were recruited into the study. They were randomly allocated to group Propofol-fentanyl (P-F) and Group Dexmedetomidine-fentanyl(D-F) where anaesthesia was induced and maintained with propofol (induced with 1.5mg/kg IV and maintained with 3-12mg/kg/h) and dexmedetomidine (induced with 1mcg/kg slow IV over 10 minutes and maintained with 0.3-1mcg/kg). At the end of surgery, time to eye-opening, time to achieve limb lift on command was noted. Modified Aldrete score was assessed every hourly in PACU until score >9. A fixed post-operative analgesic regimen was standardized in the PACU. After discharge from the hospital each patient was interviewed. over telephone at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, month after the surgery.&nbsp