COMPARISON OF ORAL GABAPENTIN AND ORAL CLONIDINE FOR POSTOPERATIVE ANALGESIA FOLLOWING ABDOMINAL SURGERIES UNDER GENERALANAESTHESIA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: Postoperative pain management signicantly affects recovery after abdominal surgery. Gabapentin and Clonidine, through different mechanisms, have shown promise in reducing postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Methods: A prospective, randomized, double-blind study included 225 ASA I–II patients undergoing elective abdominal surgeries. Patients were divided into three groups: Control (placebo), Gabapentin (300 mg orally 90 minutes before surgery), and Clonidine (150 µg orally 90 minutes before surgery). Hemodynamic parameters, duration and degree of postoperative analgesia, rescue analgesic requirement, and adverse effects were recorded. Results: Gabapentin signicantly prolonged the duration of postoperative analgesia (124.6 ± 16.4 min) compared to Clonidine (87.2 ± 12.5 min) and control (61.9 ± 8.4 min) (p<0.0001). Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores and total rescue analgesic requirements were signicantly lower in the Gabapentin group. Both Gabapentin and Clonidine groups showed better hemodynamic stability than control. Conclusion: Oral Gabapentin 300 mg administered preoperatively provides superior postoperative analgesia, reduces analgesic consumption, and maintains better hemodynamic stability compared to Clonidine and placebo in abdominal surgeries.