Adult patients undergoing elective unilateral VATS segmentectomy or lobectomy are randomly allocated to receive continuous nefopam infusion (n=45) or not (n=45), in addition to a standard postoperative analgesic regimen comprising of IV fentanyl-based patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). At the end of induction, the nefopam group will receive intravenous nefopam 20mg mixed with 50ml of normal saline, and at the end of surgery this group will receive intravenous nefopam 60mg mixed with 50ml of normal saline at a rate of 2ml/hr. The control group will receive intravenous normal saline 50ml at the end of induction and receive intravenous normal saline 50ml at a rate of 2ml/hr.
This prospective, randomized, double-blinded study is designed to evaluate the postoperative analgesic effect of the continuous infusion of intravenous nefopam in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). We hypothesize that the continuous infusion of intravenous nefopam can significantly reduce postoperative opioid consumption and pain severity in patients with VATS.