Preemptive Pregabalin in Children and Adolescents Undergoing Posterior Instrumented Spinal Fusion

Pregabalin as part of a multimodal pain-management regimen has been shown to reduce opioid consumption after spinal surgery in adults but it is unclear whether this is also true in adolescents. Pregabalin has been found to have neuroprotective effects and therefore could have a positive impact on pain after spinal deformity surgery. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial of adolescent patients undergoing spinal fusion to evaluate the short-term effects of pregabalin on postoperative pain and opioid consumption.