gabapentin versus pregabalin for postoperative pain: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

purpose: to evaluate the efficacy of pregabalin and gabapentin for post-photorefractive keratectomy (prk) pain relief. methods: 150 patients were divided into 3 groups. after undergoing prk; groups 1, 2, 3 received pregabalin 75 mg, gabapentin 300 mg, and placebo 3 times daily for 3 days, respectively. patients could take acetaminophen-codeine 300/10 mg tablets every 4 hours as needed. patients completed a pain assessment survey (visual analogue scale ranging from 0 = no pain to 10 = most severe pain) 7 times in the first 3 days following prk and also recorded the number of consumed acetaminophen-codeine tablets. results: the three groups were similar in terms of age, sex, refractive error, ablation depth, and mitomycin-c (mmc) application (all p values>0.05). overall, pain score in the placebo group was higher than the pregabalin (p=0.029) and gabapentin (p=0.023) groups, respectively. severe pain (score >7) was more frequent in the placebo group on the morning of the first postoperative day (p=0.043). the number of consumed acetaminophen-codeine tablets was lower in the pregabalin and gabapentin groups than the placebo group, but this difference didn't reach statistical significance (p=0.061). conclusion: pregabalin and gabapentin are helpful in alleviating post-prk pain when combined with other medications. depending on availability, either compound can be used as an adjuvant for pain control in this setting.