• M Kizilkaya, O S Yildirim, N Ezirmik, H Kursad, and O Karsan.
• Atatürk University, The School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Erzurum, Turkey. mkizilkaya65@hotmail.com
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2005 Aug 1;22(8):603-8.

BackgroundIn this double-blind randomized study, the analgesic effects of morphine alone and with methylprednisolone were examined in 72 patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.MethodsAt the end of arthroscopy, patients were allocated randomly to one of four groups to receive intra-articular administrations of saline, morphine 1 mg, morphine 5 mg or morphine 1 mg with methylprednisolone 40 mg. Preoperative and postoperative pain levels at rest and during movement (active flexion of the knee) were measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS). Postoperative analgesic requirements to alleviate pain were evaluated.ResultsPain scores were significantly lower for the patients who received 5 mg morphine and 1 mg morphine with 40 mg methylprednisolone than for those who received saline or 1 mg morphine. This was accompanied by a decrease in the postoperative consumption of analgesics and prolongation of the duration of pain relief.ConclusionsThis study confirms that the analgesic effect of morphine given intra-articularly is dose dependent and that combination of methylprednisolone with morphine has an additive effect on analgesia.

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