With Institutional Ethics Board approval and signed informed consent, a pilot investigation
was conducted in which 15 adult patients scheduled to undergo a thoractomy were randomly
assigned to receive 1) 150 mg pregabalin 1 hour preoperatively and then 7 days
postoperatively (BID) or 2) 300 mg pregabalin 1 hour preoperatively and 7 days
postoperatively (BID) or 3) placebo for same regimen to assess the feasibility, safety and
compliance of this drug regimen on this patient population. This assessment was necessary in
order to plan a future fully powered randomized controlled trial looking at the efficacy of
perioperative pregabalin ifor reducing the incidence/severity of chronic post-thoracotomy
pain.