Novel Non-opioid Post-surgical Pain Treatment in Females

This study aims to determine if treatment with Carbidopa/Levodopa and Naproxen in females (biological sex) with acute pain after a bunionectomy or toe fusion (24hrs, 48hrs and 5 days) will reduce pain when compared with females receiving Placebo and Naproxen.

Acute post-surgical pain remains commonly treated with opioids. Although such treatments are efficacious, they can lead to opioid dependency. Disturbingly, opioid abuse often began as a direct consequence of prescription medications, primarily for pain management, and post-surgical pain management. Recent studies in from Apkarian lab suggest that the combination of dopamine and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory may be a safe, tolerable and efficacious novel post-surgical pain treatment option. Therefore, the main hypothesis is: patients treated with Carbidopa/Levodopa and Naproxen will show a statistically significant decrease in post-surgical pain when compared with control intervention (Placebo plus Naproxen (250mg)). This will be done through a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial of the pharmacological treatment Carbidopa/Levodopa for females (N = 60) undergoing a bunionectomy or toe fusion surgery.