Objective  This work aims to identify a more effective and safer comprehensive pain-relief method of preemptive analgesia, which could be combined with psychological support for postoperative elderly cancer patients.

  Methods  A total of 120 patients with ASA I-II selective operation were randomly divided into four groups(n=30).In Group A(lornoxicam plus psychological support), intravenous injection of 16 mg lornoxicam was administered to the patients 30 min before surgery(diluted to 10 mL with normal saline).The perioperative psychological support therapy(PPST) for this group was conducted by a special medical staff in accordance to the standard procedure.In Group B(lornoxicam only), 16 mg lornoxicam(diluted to 10 mL with the saline) was injected intravenously without the PPST 30 min before surgery.In Group C(psychological support only), PPST was implemented, and a 10 mL saline was injected 30 min before surgery.In Group D(traditional intravenous anesthesia), the numeric rating scale(NRS) of pain was used at 2, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h after surgery.The adverse reactions and use of other painkillers were recorded.

  Results  The NRS was significantly lower in Groups A and B compared with that in Groups C and D at 2, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h after the surgery(P < 0.05).No statistically significant difference was found(P > 0.05) between Groups A and B.The NRS was obviously lower in Group C than in Group D at 4 and 8 h after surgery(P < 0.05).The initial time required for the use of the analgesics was significantly longer in Groups A and B compared with Groups C and D(P < 0.05).Comparing the number of cases that needed the analgesics at various intervals of time among the four groups within 48 h, the number of cases was obviously less in Groups A and B than in Groups C and D(P < 0.05).No significant difference was observed between the case number of all the groups(P < 0.05).No statistical significance was observed in the comparison of the postoperative adverse reactions among the four groups.

  Conclusion  The preemptive analgesia of lornoxicam combined with psychological support therapy in postoperative analgesia for elderly cancer patients is more favorable compared with that without PPST.This method is a more effective and safer postoperative analgesia.