Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee is assoc
iated with a considerable degree of postoperative pain. Although immediate-
release oral opioids are usually effective in relieving moderate to severe
pain, they must be given every 4-6 h. A controlled-release (CR) formulation
of oxycodone maintains therapeutic opioid concentrations for a more prolon
ged period, thus providing sustained pain relief. We designed this study to
determine whether CR oxycodone is more effective and clinically acceptable
than immediate-release oxycodone for managing pain after ambulatory ACL re
pair surgery. All patients received a standard general anesthetic and posto
perative analgesic regimen with one of three oxycodone dosing regimens: oxy
codone 10 mg every 4 h as needed, oxycodone 10 mg every 4 h, and CR oxycodo
ne 20 mg every 12 h. Rescue analgesic consisted of oxycodone 5 mg every 6 h
as needed. At 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h, there was a difference in pain sco
res among the groups (P < 0.0001); there was less pain in the CR oxycodone
group. At most times, the fixed-dose group had lower pain scores than the a
s-needed group. The sedation scores were significantly different at 12 h (P
< 0.02) and at 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h (P < 0.0001); the patients were mo
re alert in the CR oxycodone group. The 72-h consumption of oxycodone was l
ess in the CR oxycodone group (P < 0.0001). The patients had less sleep dis
turbance (P < 0.0001), were more satisfied (P < 0.0001), and experienced le
ss vomiting (P < 0.02) in the CR oxycodone group compared with the other tw
o groups. In conclusion, using CR oxycodone in the immediate 72 h after amb
ulatory ACL surgery provides more effective analgesia with less sedation, s
leep disturbance, and postoperative vomiting compared with oxycodone prescr
ibed on either a fixed dose or as-needed schedule. Implications: A controll
ed-release formulation of oxycodone in patients undergoing anterior cruciat
e ligament repair on an ambulatory basis provides significant analgesic ben
efit and a lowering of side effects compared with either fixed-dose or as-n
eeded oxycodone regimens.