The postoperative analgesic requirements of a group of patients receiving high doses of corticosteroids for 48 hours postoperatively were studied. It was found that the opioid requirement of the group was significantly less than that of a control group undergoing similar surgery but not receiving steroids (p<0.001). The steriod group required approximately half the opioid dose of the control group. Possible explanations of the effect include the anti-inflammatory action of steriods and competitive inhibition of a common metabolic pathway in the liver.
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