CONCEPTS OF PREEMPTIVE ANALGESIA FOR POSTOPERATIVE PAIN

Background: The predictable relationship between surgical injury respo nses and the ensuing postoperative pain has led to the development of the concept of preemptive analgesia, with its potential to improve the quality of the postoperative period. Methods: A review of publication s concerning the studies of the physiology of pain and the development of clinical strategies toward the prevention of postoperative pain wa s undertaken. Results: Clinical studies using various methodologies in dicate that preemptive analgesia may, in some circumstances, attenuate postoperative pain. Unfortunately, these studies were not always repr oducible. Preemptive analgesia in these studies failed to prevent or a ttenuate postoperative pain. Conclusion: Techniques directed toward re ducing and/or eliminating postoperative pain are still being developed , and their clinical utility is yet to be fully evaluated.