Efficacy of Single Dose of Transdermal Patch as a Pre-Operative Analgesic in Root Canal Treatment – A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Pain is the most common reason for patients seeking root canal therapy, hence, relieving the patients from it is most essential for endodontic success. Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of single dose of transdermal patch as a pre-operative analgesic in root canal treatment and to evaluate pain using visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline, 4 hrs, 8 hrs & 24 hrs. Materials & methods: Fifty patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis with VAS score greater than 3 were enrolled in this study. They were randomly assigned to any of the two study groups: Group 1Diclofenac 50 mg (oral tablet), Group 2Diclotouch 100mg (transdermal patch). Results: To compare between groups Mann Whitney test is applied. SPSS version 22.0 is used to analyse the data. Both the statistical analysis and clinical observation showed that there was gradual decrease in pain in both the groups at baseline, 4 hrs, 8 hrs & 24 hrs. Conclusion: The transdermal diclofenac patch seems to be an alternate mode of drug delivery system for the management of mild to moderate pain, with a lower incidence of systemic adverse effects.