Assessment of ketamine effect as adjuvant to morphine in post-operative pain reduction in donor kidney transplanted

BACKGROUND: morphine is a strong analgesic agent being used in acute pain but adverse effects may lead to its discontinuation before sufficient pain relief is obtained. Ketamine is an anti-nociceptive drug which blocks n-methyl-d-aspartate receptors and can modulate acute pain. In this study, ketamine effect as an adjuvant with morphine for post-operative pain management is evaluated. METHOD: in a double blind randomized clinical trial, 50 kidney donors undergoing nephrectomy and receiving morphine as analgesics were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups receiving ketamine (ketamine group) and saline serum (placebo group). Post-operative pain was assessed by measuring cumulative morphine consumption and visual analog scale pain scores were assessed in 48 hours duration after surgery. RESULTS: pain intensity and cumulative morphine consumption were lower and sedation score was higher in the ketamine group. Both groups were similar regarding the side effects. CONCLUSION: regarding post-operative analgesia management, ketamine administration improved pain intensity and when its administration was continued for 48 hours post-operatively, there was a significant decrease in morphine consumption.