Intravenous Acetaminophen for Postoperative Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Living Laparoscopic Living-Donor Nephrectomy

ORCiD

Adam M. Kaye: 0000-0002-7224-3322

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Annals of Pharmacotherapy

ISSN

1526-9248

Volume

51

Issue

1

DOI

10.1177/1060028016669162

First Page

21

Last Page

26

Publication Date

10-1-2016

Abstract

Background: Postoperative pain is a common complication of laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomies (LLDNs). Objective: To determine whether intravenous (IV) acetaminophen administration post-LLDN influenced length of stay (LOS) when used for pain management. Methods: This single-center, retrospective study compared patients undergoing LLDN who had received IV acetaminophen for pain control versus those who did not between June 1, 2011, and November 30, 2015. Patient LOS, 30-day readmissions, frequency of pain assessments, patient-reported pain scores, and opioid administration were assessed. Results: A total of 90 patients were included in the analysis (IV acetaminophen, n = 48; non-IV acetaminophen, n = 42). Patients who did not receive IV acetaminophen were more often older (48.8 ± 12.1 vs 39.3 ± 12.1 years; P = 0.012) and female (71.4% vs 47.9%; P < 0.001). The average LOS was similar between the 2 groups (median = 3.0; interquartile range = [3, 4] vs 3.5 [3, 4]; P = 0.737). The 30-day readmissions were higher in the IV acetaminophen group (16.7%) compared with the group not receiving IV acetaminophen (2.4%; P = 0.033). After the first postoperative day, the frequencies of pain assessments performed were similar among the 2 groups. There was no difference in average pain scores between the groups at any time after LLDN.

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