Use of intra-articular morphine for postoperative analgesia following TMJ arthroscopy

Recent studies have suggested that giving opioids locally into inflamed tis sue may cause analgesia. This antinociceptive effect has been attributed to the interaction of the drug with opioid receptors upregulated by inflammat ion in the peripheral tissues. We have compared the analgesic effect of int ra-articular morphine with that of normal saline and a combination of morph ine and its antagonist naloxone after arthroscopy of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Twenty-one patients took part in a randomized controlled doubl e-blind trial and received one of these three solutions at the end of opera tion. The pain scores, time to the first request for analgesia, and the analgesic consumption of the patients in the three groups did not differ significant ly at any time during the study period.