Chronic postsurgical pain has a significant impact on the health of Australians. Post-surgery pain lasting for over a year can occur in 15-60% of patients.
This study aims to identify biomarkers that predict treatment response and adverse effects of perioperative ketamine in patients with acute and chronic postsurgical pain. As a substudy of the NHMRC-funded ROCKet trial, it will investigate pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and genetic factors associated with ketamine efficacy and safety. Given the high prevalence and burden of chronic postsurgical pain, the research seeks to improve understanding of which patients are most likely to benefit from ketamine and which may be at increased risk of adverse effects.
The research has the potential to develop precision medicine to improve targeted acute pain management and prevent chronic postsurgical pain. A presurgical blood sample may be all that is required. It will also have implications with respect to chronic pain per se including the increasingly recognised potential role of the innate immune system in the development of neuroinflammation.
Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide
Professor Andrew Somogyi, Professor Philip Peyton, Associate Professor David Foster and Dr Christopher Bain.
The project was awarded funding of $63,000 through the ANZCA research grants program for 2020.
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