Comparison of Pre-emptive Effect of Meloxicam and Celecoxcib on Post-operative Analgesia: a Double-blind, Randomized Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION Pre-emptive analgesia may reduce pain, accelerate recovery and shorten the duration of hospitalization. The present study aims to compare the preemptive analgesic effects of meloxicam and celecoxib in patients undergoing lower limb surgery. METHOD In this double blind randomized clinical trial, 70 patients, undergoing lower extremity surgery, entered in the study; thirty five patients were randomly allocated to either group using random allocation software. Meloxicam (15 mg) was administered orally to one group two hours before the surgical onset. The other group was treated with oral celecoxib (400 mg) two hours before the operation. Pain severity was compared between the two groups. RESULTS Upon admission to Recovery Room, the mean pain severity was not significantly different between the two groups. At one and two hours following surgery the mean pain severity was significantly higher in celecoxib group. However, 6 hours following surgery mean pain severity was higher with meloxicam administration. Pain severity was not significantly different in the two groups, 12 and 24 hours following surgery. CONCLUSION The analgesic effect of celecoxib seems to cover longer duration than meloxicam; but, meloxicam appears to be a stronger analgesic in shorter time interval.