Study Objective: To investigate the efficacy of pregabalin for the relief of postoperative shoulder pain after laparoscopic gynecologic surgery.

Design: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Canadian Task Force classification I).

Setting: Tertiary referral center, university hospital.

Patients: Fifty-six women undergoing elective laparoscopic gynecologic surgery between June 2012 and March 2013.

Interventions: Women in the study group received 75 mg pregabalin 2 hours before surgery and then every 12 hours for 2 doses, and women in the control group received an identical capsule and the same dosage of placebo.

Measurements and Main Results: Visual analog scale (VAS) scores for shoulder pain and surgical pain at 24 and 48 hours after surgery were evaluated as primary outcome. Postoperative analgesics used and drug-related adverse events were also monitored. Patients in the pregabalin group had significantly lower postoperative VAS scores for shoulder pain at 24 hours, compared with the placebo group (median, 23.14 [range, 13.67–32.61] vs 37.22 [27.75–46.64]; p = .04), and required less analgesic (p = .01). There were no significant differences in VAS scores for surgical pain and adverse events between the 2 groups (p = .56).

Conclusions: Perioperative administration of 75 mg pregabalin significantly reduced postoperative laparoscopic shoulder pain and amount of analgesic used.