Sublingual Sufentanil Tablet System (SSTS) Versus Intravenous Patient Controlled Analgesia After Back Surgery.

Sublingual Sufentanil Tablet System (SSTS) Versus Intravenous Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCIA) With Morphine for Postoperative Pain After Back Surgery. A Single Center Case-control Study.

In this study, numeric rating scale (NRS) and side effects are measured after usage of a sublingual sufentanil tablet system (SSTS) in comparison to intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCIA).

Sublingual sufentanil tablet system (SSTS) is compared in pain relief and side effect profile with the routinely used intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCIA) with morphine in the postoperative phase after back surgery. The common use of PCIA with morphine is associated with a rather slow onset-time and active metabolites, with occurrence of potential harmful side effects as sedation and desaturation.

This mono-centric project involving American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification I-II patients undergoing elective neurosurgery (laminectomy) are recruited. Enrolled patients undergo numeric rating scale (NRS) and side effect questionnaire during the first 72h postoperatively.

Inclusion Criteria:

• scheduled elective laminectomy or spinal fusion
• American Society Anesthesiology Classification system (ASA) I-III

Exclusion Criteria:

• chronic opioid use (>3 months)
• pregnancy
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
• supplemental oxygen therapy at home
• postoperative use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or anti-neuropathic drugs