ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026
Combination of dexamethasone and pregabalin for postoperative pain after laminectomy: a randomized controlled trial.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeMultimodal analgesia is standard for post-laminectomy pain. This study evaluated two intravenous dexamethasone doses, with or without oral pregabalin, within this framework.
methodsIn this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 800 adult patients undergoing elective 2–3 level lumbar laminectomy were allocated to: Group A (8 mg IV dexamethasone + 150 mg oral pregabalin), Group B (8 mg IV dexamethasone + oral placebo), Group C (4 mg IV dexamethasone + 150 mg oral pregabalin), or Group D (4 mg IV dexamethasone + oral placebo). Drugs were given preemptively. Primary outcome was pain scores (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS) over 24 h. Secondary outcomes included 24-hour opioid consumption (calculated as total morphine equivalents), time to first rescue analgesia, hemodynamics, adverse events (assessed using standardized scales including Ramsay Sedation Scale for sedation), and surgical site infection within 30 days.
resultsAll patients completed the protocol. Statistically significant differences in VAS scores were observed among groups at all time points (p < 0.001), with Group A reporting the lowest scores. Twenty-four-hour opioid consumption was also significantly different (p < 0.001), being lowest in Group A. A formal factorial analysis indicated a statistically significant interaction effect (p = 0.012) between the higher dexamethasone dose and pregabalin. Sedation/dizziness was more frequent in pregabalin groups (A: 22.5%; C: 20.0%) versus placebo groups (B & D: 5.0% each; p < 0.001). No significant differences in surgical site infections or hyperglycemia were noted.
conclusionthis selected cohort, preemptive administration of 8 mg IV dexamethasone combined with 150 mg oral pregabalin significantly reduced pain scores and opioid requirements over 24 h compared with lower doses or monotherapy. The combination also provided better hemodynamic stability but increased neurosedative effects. This regimen may be a potential option for multimodal analgesia in spinal surgery, but further studies are needed to confirm generalizability. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42009917What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.