Efficacy for epidural fenatnyl in single level fenestration lumbar discetomies: An randomised controlled trial

: Lumbar disc prolapse is among the most frequent causes of Back pain resulting in surgery accounting for 5% of all lumbar surgeries. In this study, post operative effecgtiveness of fentanyl in lumbar disc prolapse patients is being assessed. Pateints who undergo fenestration discectomies have moderate to severe pain at surgical site, which lasts for 48 to 72 hours post surgery. : This study would evaluate the efficacy of intra-operative epidural fentanyl infiltration on post surgical analgesia following single-level fenestration discectomy and the adverse events that occurred among the groups. 60 patients were into two groups (Group A: Control & Group B: Drug). Between November 2018 and February 2021, 30 patients in the drug group—injected with intraoperative epidural fentanyl (1 mcg/kg weight) and 30 patients in the control group with placebo. All patients were followed up for the next 3 days. VAS scoring was used to assess post-operative pain and data on time to mobilization, the requirement for rescue analgesia (50 mg IV tramadol). Group A and Group B's post-operative VAS scores at the first post-operative hour were statistically significant (value of p = 0.02). The respective times for mobilization were 19.6 and 18.4 hours. A single-level discectomy patient's (p=0.02) early postoperative pain (VAS) was statistically significantly reduced after intraoperative fentanyl infiltration and there were no appreciable side effects. Although not statistically significant(p>0.05), there was a earlier time to mobilization in the test group.