The effect of preoperative intravenous dexketoprofen trometamol on postoperative pain in minor outpatient urologic surgery.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this prospective double-blind randomized study was to compare the effectiveness of preoperative dexketoprofen trometamol for acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing minor outpatient urologic surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixty male patients (ASA I and II) undergoing varicocelectomy and testicular sperm extraction (TESE) with standard laryngeal mask airway (LMA) anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in Group I (n=30) received 50 mg of dexketoprofen trometamol iv before induction, whereas patients in Group II (n=30) received saline. All patients received standard LMA anesthesia (propofol, sevoflurane and N2O/O2). Analgesic efficacy was evaluated by self-assessment of pain intensity (VAS) at regular intervals. Vital signs, side effects and time to reach a postanesthesia discharge score (PADS) of ≥9 were also recorded. Paracetamol 1 gr iv and tramadol 100 mg iv were used for rescue analgesia. RESULTS Demographic data and duration of surgery were similar in both groups. There was no significant difference between groups with respect to postoperative pain scores and side effects. Although more patients in Group II (60%) required rescue analgesia compared to Group I (33.3%), the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION Preoperative IV use of dexketoprofen trometamol iv did not decrease the need for rescue analgesia in patients undergoing minor outpatient urological surgery.