Background:~Postoperative pain following median sternotomy can represent a major postoperative problem as it can lead to reduced mobilization and shallow, restricted breathing and insufficient cough, which can lead to pulmonary complications.~However, pain management with opioids has frequent side-effects such as confusion, respiratory depression, sedation, nausea and obstipation/ paralytic ilieus. Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can been used as opiod-sparing analgesics following cardiac surgery. However, this remains controversial, as NSAIDs has been linked to an increased risk of myocardial infarction, especially in patients with ischaemic heart disease, renal failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and possibly impaired sternal healing.~The investigators wanted to investigate the analgesic properties of a opiod-based regimen with that of an ibuprofene-based, through randomization of patients to one of the two arms.~Intervention:~The participants were given analgesics in accordance to their randomization group upon return from the postoperative ICU stay.~The opioid regimen relied on a basic dose of slow-release oxycodone (Oxycontin, Norpharma, Vedbaek, Denmark, 10mg two times daily) and paracetamol (Panodil, GlaxoSmithKline, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1g four times daily). For break-through pain extra oxycodone was administered as injections or capsules (5mg pr. dose). Furthermore laxatives were co-administered to prevent obstipation.~In the ibuprofene regimen slow-release ibuprofen (Brufen Retard, Abbott, Copenhagen, Denmark, 800mg two times daily) replaced oxycodone as the basic analgesic. In the ibuprofene regimen lansoprazol (Lansoprazole, Actavis, Gentofte, Denmark, 30mg once daily) was co-administered to prevent development of gastric ulcers. These regimens were initiated the first postoperative day, when the patient was transferred from the ICU to the ward, and continued until the seventh postoperative day. Some patient~Outcome:~Please refer to the outcome chapter~Statistics:~Data are presented as number of patients, medians, and ranges. Patients are compared according to the ibuprofen or the oxycodone group, and statistics were done using intention-to-treat-design. Fischer's exact test, Mann-Whitney, and 95% confidence intervals were used as appropriate. Significance was defined as P-values below 0.05.
The aim of this randomized controlled study is to shed light on the analgesic properties and side-effect profile of an opiod-based regimen as opposed to an Ibuprofene based regimen.