Postcraniotomy Pain Clinical Trial
Official title:
Comparison of the Efficacy of Oral Oxycodone and Oral Codeine in the Treatment of Postcraniotomy Pain
The efficacy of codeine is dependent on its demethylation to morphine. This extent of
demethylation has wide inter-individual variability, making codeine's efficacy as a
analgesic variable. Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid and is a weak agonist on mu opioid
receptors.
Codeine has been the mainstay of analgesia for patients after craniotomy for many years.
Traditionally, craniotomies were not thought to be very painful procedures, hence the use of
codeine, a moderately potent opioid (when compared to morphine).
However, in recent years, it has been found that up to 70% of post-craniotomy patients have
moderate to severe pain and codeine did not provide adequate analgesic relief. Many studies
have compared codeine to other drugs such as PCA morphine, fentanyl and tramadol, and
patients on these stronger opioids generally had lower pain scores and better satisfaction.
No study has been conducted to determine the efficacy of analgesia of oral oxycodone to oral
codeine.
Hence, the hypothesis is that oxycodone is more effective than codeine in providing pain
relief in post-craniotomy patients.
n/a
Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Factorial Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment