Early preoperative versus postoperative administration of meloxicam in pain control, patient global status improvement, knee function recovery of arthroscopic knee surgery

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety between early preoperative administration and postoperative administration of oral meloxicam in patients underwent arthroscopic knee surgery (AKS). METHODS: Totally 296 patients with the intention to undergo AKS were recruited and randomly allocated as 1:1 ratio into early preoperative analgesia (EPA) group and postoperative analgesia (POA) group. Pain visual analog scale (VAS) score and severity (at rest and at flexion), patient global assessment (PGA) score, the consumption of rescue analgesia (pethidine), and adverse events were evaluated during the perioperation. And knee range of motion (ROM), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, and Lysholm score were assessed at baseline and at 3 months after AKS. RESULTS: Both pain VAS score and severity (at rest and at flexion) were decreased at 4, 8, and 12 hours, but similar at −24, −2, 24, 36, and 48 hours after AKS in EPA group compared with POA group. Besides, PGA score was lower at 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours, but similar at −24, −2, 36, and 48 hours after AKS in EPA group compared with POA group. As to the consumption of pethidine in perioperative period, it was decreased in EPA group compared with POA group. No difference was observed in knee ROM, IKDC score, Lysholm score, and adverse effects between EPA group and POA group. CONCLUSION: Early preoperative administration of meloxicam was a superior approach in pain control compared with postoperative administration in treating patients underwent AKS.