Perioperative intravenous low‐dose ketamine for neuropathic pain after major lower back surgery: A randomized, placebo‐controlled study

Abstract

Background

Chronic pain after major lower back surgery is frequent. We investigated in adults the effect of perioperative low‐dose ketamine on neuropathic lower back pain, assessed by the DN4 questionnaire, six and 12 months after major lower back surgery.

Methods

In this single‐centre randomized trial, 80 patients received intravenous ketamine 0.25 mg/kg preoperatively, followed by 0.25 mg/kg hr^‐1 intraoperatively, and 0.1 mg/kg hr^‐1 from 1 hr before the end of surgery until the end of recovery room stay; 80 controls received placebo.

Results

Preoperatively, 47.4% of patients in the ketamine group and 46.3% in the placebo group had neuropathic pain; 10% and 3.8%, respectively, were using strong opioids. At the end of the infusion, the median cumulative dose of ketamine was 84.8 mg (IQR 67.4–106.7) and the median plasma level was 97 ng/ml (IQR 77.9–128.0). At six months, 28.8% of patients in the ketamine group and 23.5% in the placebo group had neuropathic pain (absolute difference, 5.2%; 95% CI −10.7 to 21.1; p = .607). At 12 months, 26.4% of patients in the ketamine group and 17.9% in the placebo group had neuropathic pain (absolute difference 8.5%; 95% CI −6.7 to 23.6; p = .319).

Conclusions

In this patient population with a high prevalence of neuropathic lower back pain undergoing major lower back surgery, a perioperative intravenous low‐dose ketamine infusion did not have an effect on the prevalence of neuropathic lower back pain at six or 12 months postoperatively.

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Diagnosis and treatment of sciatica

What you need to knowSciatica is a clinical diagnosis based on symptoms of radiating pain in one leg with or without associated neurological deficits on examinationMost patients improve over time...

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Refractory dependence on opioid analgesics

Refractory dependence on opioid analgesics

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Epidermal expression of human TRPM8, but not of TRPA1 ion channels, is associated with sensory responses to local skin cooling

Human cold perception and nociception play an important role in persisting pain. However, species differences in the target temperature of thermosensitive ion channels expressed in peripheral nerve endings have fueled discussions about the mechanism of cold nociception in humans. Most frequently implicated thermosensors are members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channel family TRPM8 and TRPA1. Regularly observed, distinct cold pain phenotype groups suggested the existence of interindividually differing molecular bases. In 28 subjects displaying either high or medium sensitivity to local cooling of the skin, the density at epidermal nerve fibers of TRPM8, but not that of TRPA1 expression, correlated significantly with the cold pain threshold. Moreover, reproducible grouping of the subjects, based on high or medium sensitivity to cooling, was reflected in an analogous grouping based on high or low TRPM8 expression at epidermal nerve fibers. The distribution of TRPM8 expression in epidermal nerve fibers provided an explanation for the previously observed (bi)modal distribution of human cold pain thresholds which was reproduced in this study. In the light of current controversies on the role of human TRPA1 ion channels in cold pain perception, the present observations demonstrating a lack of association of TRPA1 channel expression with cold sensitivity–related measures reinforce doubts about involvement of this channel in cold pain in humans. Since TRP inhibitors targeting TRPM8 and TRPA1 are currently entering clinical phases of drug development, the existence of known species differences, in particular in the function of TRPA1, emphasizes the increasing importance of new methods to directly approach the roles of TRPs in humans.

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Fatty acid suppression of glial activation prevents central neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

About half of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) develop debilitating central neuropathic pain (CNP), with no effective treatments. Thus, effective, safe, and novel therapies are needed urgently. Previously, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was reported to confer neuroprotection in preclinical SCI models. However, its therapeutic potential on SCI-CNP remains to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that intravenous DHA administrations with 3-day intervals (250 nmol/kg; starting 30 minutes after injury and maintained for 6 weeks) effectively prevented SCI-CNP development in a clinically relevant rat contusion model. SCI-CNP was assessed by a novel sensory profiling approach combining evoked pain measures and pain-related ethologically relevant rodent behaviours (burrowing, thigmotaxis, and place/escape avoidance) to mimic those for measuring human (sensory, affective, cognitive, and spontaneous) pain. Strikingly, already established SCI-CNP could be abolished partially by similar DHA administrations, starting from the beginning of week 4 after injury and maintained for 4 weeks. At spinal (epicenter and L5 dorsal horns) and supraspinal (anterior cingulate cortex) levels, both treatment regimens potently suppressed microglial and astrocyte activation, which underpins SCI-CNP pathogenesis. Spinal microgliosis, a known hallmark associated with neuropathic pain behaviours, was reduced by DHA treatments. Finally, we revealed novel potential roles of peroxisome proliferator–activated and retinoid X receptors and docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide (DHA's metabolite) in mediating DHA's effects on microglial activation. Our findings, coupled with the excellent long-term clinical safety of DHA even in surgical and critically ill patients, suggest that systemic DHA treatment is a translatable, effective, safe, and novel approach for preventing and managing SCI-CNP.

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A potential role for T-type calcium channels in homocysteinemia-induced peripheral neuropathy

Homocysteinemia is a metabolic condition characterized by abnormally high level of homocysteine in the blood and is considered to be a risk factor for peripheral neuropathy. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying toxic effects of homocysteine on the processing of peripheral nociception have not yet been investigated comprehensively. Here, using a rodent model of experimental homocysteinemia, we report the causal association between homocysteine and the development of mechanical allodynia. Homocysteinemia-induced mechanical allodynia was reversed on pharmacological inhibition of T-type calcium channels. In addition, our in vitro studies indicate that homocysteine enhances recombinant T-type calcium currents by promoting the recycling of Cav3.2 channels back to the plasma membrane through a protein kinase C–dependent signaling pathway that requires the direct phosphorylation of Cav3.2 at specific loci. Altogether, these results reveal an unrecognized signaling pathway that modulates the expression of T-type calcium channels, and may potentially contribute to the development of peripheral neuropathy associated with homocysteinemia.

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Recurrent low back pain patients demonstrate facilitated pronociceptive mechanisms when in pain, and impaired antinociceptive mechanisms with and without pain

Low back pain (LBP) has been inconsistently associated with enhanced pronociceptive and impaired antinociceptive mechanisms. It remains unknown whether alterations are causal, consequential, or coincidental to pain presence. This study investigated pronociceptive and antinociceptive mechanisms in recurrent LBP (RLBP) patients across painful and pain-free periods, compared with age/sex-matched asymptomatic controls. During a painful episode (day 0) and when pain-free (day 28), 30 RLBP patients were assessed and compared with 30 controls over the same timeframe. Pressure pain thresholds were recorded bilaterally on the arm, back, and leg. Cuff algometry was used to assess cuff pressure pain detection threshold and cuff pain tolerance threshold on the lower legs, as well as temporal summation of pain (10 repeated painful cuff test stimuli on the dominant leg scored on a visual analogue scale) and conditioned pain modulation ([CPM]: cuff pain detection/tolerance threshold on dominant leg, before vs during painful cuff conditioning on the contralateral leg). Recurrent LBP patients displayed reduced pressure pain thresholds at the arm and back on day 0 compared with day 28 (P < 0.047) and with controls on day 0 (P < 0.049). Cuff pain detection threshold was reduced, and ratings of suprathreshold test stimuli were increased in RLBP patients on day 0 compared with day 28 (P < 0.02). Temporal summation of pain magnitude (increase in visual analogue scale scores) was enhanced in RLBP participants on day 0 compared with day 28 (P = 0.027) and with controls on day 0 (P = 0.039). Conditioned pain modulation magnitude (increased threshold during conditioning) was lower overall in RLBP participants than in controls (P = 0.021). Enhanced pronociceptive mechanisms were observed in RLBP patients. When pain-free, measures returned to similar levels as controls, except for CPM, which remained impaired.

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