Object. The authors studied the effect of immediate postoperative administr
ation of bupivacaine in patients who underwent a lumbar decompressive proce
dure.
Methods. In this randomized double-blind trial, 50 patients who underwent e
lective lumbar decompression after induction of general anesthetic received
a postoperative bilateral paravertebral 40-ml intramuscular application of
either saline (0.9%) or bupivacaine (0.25%). For delivering morphine, both
groups used a patient-controlled analgesia system for 24 hours postsurgery
. Pain scores, 10-cm visual analog scale scores, and morphine consumption w
ere similar between groups with no significant differences (p > 0.05).
Conclusions. Results of subgroup analysis suggested strongly that periopera
tive administration of methylprednisolone in a sustained-release preparatio
n was associated with a reduction in postoperative pain (p < 0.05).