Postoperative analgesic effect of preoperative intravenous flurbiprofen in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

This study was carried out to evaluate the postoperative analgesic effects of preoperative intravenous flurbiprofen in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair under general anesthesia. We studied 44 patients who underwent an elective arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in a prospective, randomized, and double-blind fashion. The patients were divided into two groups. Group A (n = 22) received lipid emulsion 0.1 ml center dot kg(-1) as a placebo, and group B (n = 22) received flurbiprofen 1 mg center dot kg(-1) before the surgery. Intralipid or flurbiprofen was given intravenously 5 min before the surgery. General anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane and nitrous oxide, and 10 ml of 0.75% ropivacaine was administered intraarticularly at the end of the surgery. Postoperative analgesia was supplied with intravenous 0.1 mg buprenorphine according to the patient's demand. The effectiveness of flurbiprofen's analgesic effect was measured by a visual analog scale (VAS) and by the amount of buprenorphine consumption at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h after the surgery. Time to the first analgesic was also recorded. VAS in group B was significantly (P < 0.01) lower than that in group A during the first 6 h postoperatively. The amount of buprenorphine consumption in group B was also significantly (P < 0.01) less than that in group A within the first 2 h postoperatively. The time to first analgesic request in group B was significantly (P < 0.01) longer than that in group A. These results show that preoperative intravenous flurbiprofen facilitates the analgesic effect in the early postoperative period after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.