Controlling Post-operative Pain Intensity in Patients Undergoing Tibia Fracture Surgery: Pregabalin vs. Clonidine

Introduction: The goal of this study was to compare the effect of two drugs (pregabalin and clonidine) on pain intensity within 24 hours after surgery in patients undergoing tibia fracture surgery is a step forward to choose the right drug.

Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 64 candidates for elective tibia fractures were selected based on a randomized table. The patients were divided into two groups of those treated with clonidine (group C) and those treated with pregabalin (group P). Clonidine is given to patients in the first group one hour before surgery at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg and one hour after surgery at a dose of 0,1 mg / kg. Patients in the second group received pregabalin one hour before surgery at a dose of 200 mg and one hour after surgery at a dose of 200 mg orally. Then the variables are 6,12 and 24 hours. Finally, by using SPSS software, qualitative variables were compared according to their percentage using Chi square test, and for quantitative variables, the mean of each group was calculated and t-test was used to compare the means.

Results: The visual analog scale (VAS) scores were significantly lower in the pregabalin group compared with the clonidine group at .7 and 70 hours after surgery. A statistically significant analgesic effect was seen in the clonidine treated group compared with pregabalin.

Conclusion: Our data suggested that pregabalin improves pain relief after surgery, but it has less analgesic effect than clonidine.