Efficacy and Safety of Transdermal Fentanyl in the Control of Postoperative Pain After Photorefractive Keratectomy

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of transdermal fentanyl (TDF) in the control of postoperative pain following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). One hundred ninety-nine consecutive PRK cases (398 eyes) were retrospectively reviewed. For postoperative pain control, 96 patients (63 females) were treated with tramadol 37.5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg combination tablets (2 tablets bid), 103 patients (73 females) were treated with TDF (12 μg/h). Postoperative pain intensity using the visual analog scale (VAS) during postoperative 3 days including the evening of the day of the operation and peak pain intensity, rated using the verbal descriptor scale (VDS) at postoperative 4 days, were compared between 2 groups. Overall adverse events in the 2 treatment groups were also compared. The differences in mean pain intensity scores were significant between the control group and the fentanyl group (P=0.001, Repeated-measures analysis of variance). The proportion of severe pain (VAS>54 mm) was significantly lower in the fentanyl group than the control group by morning of postoperative 2 days (P