“A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ORAL PREGABALIN AND ORAL PARACETAMOL AS PRE-EMPTIVE ANALGESICS IN PATIENTS POSTED FOR LOWER LIMB ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERIES UNDER SPINAL ANAESTHESIA

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efcacy of oral pregabalin and oral paracetamol as preemptive analgesics in patients undergoing lower limb orthopaedic surgeries under spinal anaesthesia. The primary outcomes were pain scores, opioid consumption, and quality of sleep postoperatively. Methodology: The study included 60 patients undergoing elective lower limb orthopaedic surgery. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 150 mg of oral pregabalin (Group PG) or 1 g of oral paracetamol (Group PA) one hour before surgery. Pain intensity was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) immediately post-surgery and at intervals up to 24 hours. Rescue analgesia use and quality of sleep were also recorded. Statistical analyses included independent sample t-tests, Chi-Square tests, and repeated measures analysis. Results: At 2 hours post-surgery, the PA group had signicantly higher mean VAS scores (3.90) compared to the PG group (1.67, p < 0.001). Signicant differences were also noted at 18 hours (p = 0.001) and 24 hours post-surgery (p < 0.001), with the PA group experiencing higher pain levels. The PA group required more doses of rescue analgesia ( ² = 23.3, p < 0.001) and reported poorer sleep quality compared to the PG group ( ² = 6.19, p = 0.045). Conclusion: Oral pregabalin is more effective than oral paracetamol for pre-emptive analgesia in patients undergoing lower limb orthopaedic surgeries under spinal anaesthesia.