Combatting pain after orthopedic/trauma surgery- perioperative oral extended-release tapentadol vs. extended-release oxycodone/naloxone

Background High post-operative pain scores after “minor” orthopedic/trauma surgery are in part attributed to inadequate prescription of opioid analgesics. Novel concepts aiming to achieve sufficient analgesia while minimizing opioid-related side effects by avoiding fluctuating plasma levels are based on perioperative oral administration of extended-release opioids beginning with the first dose pre-operatively. This is the first study to evaluate analgesic efficacy and side effect rates of extended-release tapentadol compared to oxycodone/naloxone following orthopedic/trauma surgery.