Influence of fentanyl-based Patient-Controlled Intravenous Analgesia (PCIA) with and without background infusion on postoperative pain intensity in patients following total hip replacement

Objective
The goal of this trial was to determine if fentanyl PCIA and background infusion are effective for post-total hip replacement analgesia.
Methods
This trial examined two groups of patients receiving PCIA who had total hip replacements: group A ( = 35) with no background infusion, lockout time of 6 min; group B ( = 35) with background infusion 2 mL/h infusion, lockout time of 10 min. The fentanyl dose in each group was diluted with 100 mL normal saline. Primary outcome was VAS scores at rest after 24 hr. The secondary outcomes included VAS scores at rest at 6, 12, and 18 hr, fentanyl consumption, injection to attempt ratio, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Results
Neither background infusion nor no background infusion showed significant differences in VAS scores at 24 hr. Background infusion groups exhibited lower VAS pain levels at 6, 12, and 18 hr. At 24 hr after surgery, attempts, injections, and fentanyl consumption were significantly different between the two groups ( < 0.001). While BP and HR did not differ significantly between groups, pain control effectiveness showed statistically significant differences between groups.
Conclusion
Background infusion increased the overall quantity of fentanyl consumed within 24 hr after total hip replacement. The background infusion considerably decreased the pain at 6, 12, and 18 hr, but it had little effect on hip replacement pain at 24 hr. Importantly, it did not increase the incidence of BP, and HR. However, there were no significant differences in BP or HR between both groups, Fentanyl Background infusion was effective for post-total hip replacement analgesia.