The effects of perioperative pain management techniques on food consumption and body weight after laparotomy in rats.

UNLABELLED: We examined the effects of two perioperative pain management techniques on recovery after laparotomy, as assessed by body weight (BW) and food consumption (FC). All rats received a preoperative intrathecal mixture of morphine plus bupivacaine combined with one of two treatments: (a) injection of slow-release morphine at the end of the surgery or (b) an antiinflammatory drug, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), combined with the preoperative mixture. Laparotomy significantly decreased FC and BW. Both analgesic treatments resulted in a faster recovery of FC and BW. This beneficial effect was more pronounced in the group receiving preoperative analgesics combined with IL-1ra. IMPLICATIONS: Effective perioperative pain management can improve postoperative recovery. We studied the effects of two preoperative pain management techniques on recovery after laparotomy in rats. Both analgesic treatments resulted in a faster recovery, especially preoperative analgesics combined with interleukin-1 receptor antagonist.