Perioperative Gabapentin for pain management among elderly increases risk of delirium, complications: JAMA

Gabapentin has been increasingly used as part of a multimodal analgesia regimen to reduce opioid use in perioperative pain management. However, the safety of perioperative gabapentin use among older patients remains uncertain.

A study was conducted to examine in-hospital adverse clinical events associated with perioperative gabapentin use among older patients undergoing major surgery.

This retrospective cohort study using data from the Premier Healthcare Database included patients aged 65 years or older who underwent major surgery at US hospitals within 7 days of hospital admission from January 1, 2009, to March 31, 2018, and did not use gabapentin before surgery. Data were analyzed from June 14, 2021, to May 23, 2022.

The primary outcome was delirium, identified using diagnosis codes, and secondary outcomes were new antipsychotic use, pneumonia, and in-hospital death between postoperative day 3 and hospital discharge. To reduce confounding, 1:1 propensity score matching was performed. Risk ratios (RRs) and risk differences (RDs) with 95% CIs were estimated.

Results:

• Among 967 547 patients before propensity score matching, the rate of perioperative gabapentin use was 12.3%
• After propensity score matching, 237 872 gabapentin users and nonusers were identified.
• Compared with nonusers, gabapentin users had an increased risk of delirium new antipsychotic use and pneumonia, but there was no difference in in-hospital death
• The risk of delirium among gabapentin users was greater in subgroups with high comorbidity burden than in those with low comorbidity burden and chronic kidney disease

Thus, in this cohort study, perioperative gabapentin use was associated with an increased risk of delirium, new antipsychotic use, and pneumonia among older patients after major surgery. These results suggest careful risk-benefit assessment before prescribing gabapentin for perioperative pain management.

Reference:

Park CM, Inouye SK, Marcantonio ER, et al. Perioperative Gabapentin Use and In-Hospital Adverse Clinical Events Among Older Adults After Major Surgery. JAMA Intern Med. Published online September 19, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.3680