Efficacy and feasibility of scheduled intravenous acetaminophen administration after pancreatoduodenectomy: a propensity score-matched study

Purpose The efficiency and safety of routine intravenous administration of acetaminophen after highly invasive hepatobiliary pancreatic surgery remain unclear. In particular, there have been no studies focusing on pancreatoduodenectomy. The present study clarified its clinical utility for patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy. Methods We retrospectively collected 179 patients who underwent open pancreatoduodenectomy from 2015 to 2020. The analgesic effects and adverse events in patients with scheduled intravenous administration of acetaminophen were evaluated using propensity score matching. Results After 40 patients from each group were selected by propensity score matching, the postoperative liver function tests were not significantly different between the control and acetaminophen groups. No significant differences were found in the self-reported pain intensity score or postoperative nausea and vomiting; however, the rate of pentazocine use and the total number of additional analgesics were significantly lower in the acetaminophen group than in the control group ( p = 0.003 and 0.002, respectively). Conclusion The scheduled intravenous administration of acetaminophen did not affect the postoperative liver function and had a good analgesic effect after pancreatoduodenectomy.