Changes in intensity of postoperative pain under ketamine anesthesia in children: a Meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective To systematically review the changes in the intensity of postoperative pain under ketamine anesthesia in children.Methods We searched the Cochrane Library,PubMed,OVID,EMBASE,and Chinese Biomedical Database for prospective randomized controlled trials involving the changes in the intensity of postoperative pain under ketamine anesthesia in children.The quality of the studies was evaluated by the method recommended by Cochrane Collaboration.Evaluation indexes included pain score and analgesic consumption during 6 h after operation,pain score and analgesic consumption during 6-24 h after operation,duration of sensory block (caudal block),side effects during 24 h after operation (postoperative nausea and vomiting and psycho-mimetic manifestations).Meta-analysis was conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.0 software.Results Fifteen prospective randomized controlled trials involving 955 patients were included in our Meta-analysis.The patients were divided into 2 groups:control group ( n =455) and ketamine group ( n =500).The pain score and analgesic consumption during 6 h after operation were significantly decreased after general anesthesia with ketamine.The pain score during 6-24 h after operation and analgesic consumption during 6 h after operation were significantly decreased after local anesthesia with ketamine.The duration of sensory block was prolonged and the analgesic consumption during 6 h after operation was significantly reduced after caudal block with ketamine.There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and psycho-mimetic manifestations between the two groups.Conclusion The intensity of pain and analgesic requirement during 6 h after operation are significantly reduced under ketamine anesthesia in children. Key words: Ketamine; Pain, postoperative; Children; Meta-analysis