Preemptive Co-infiltration of Triamcinolone Acetonide With Ropivacaine for Postoperative Pain in Major Spinal Surgery

Patients undergoing major spinal surgery usually experience moderate to-severe postoperative pain. Inadequate pain control may lead to severe complications. Local infiltration analgesia (LIA) with a local anesthetic, is a simple, minimally invasive, and effective postoperative pain management technique. However, LIA with local anesthetic alone can only last for a short time, steroid as adjuvant can enhance postoperative analgesia and prolong postoperative analgesia time. Triamcinolone acetonide as an adjunctive infiltration to local anesthesia presented a superior analgesic benefit compared with local anesthesia alone in various types of surgeries. To date, no studies have evaluated the additive analgesia effects of triamcinolone acetonide on incision infiltration in major spinal surgery. The purpose of this trial is to determine whether preemptive co-infiltration of triamcinolone acetonide and ropivacaine in surgical incision will further reduce postoperative opioid requirements and pain score after spinal surgery than that of ropivacaine alone.