[Comparison of the analgesic effect between 90 mg etoricoxib and dipyrone after exeresis of primary pterygium with conjunctival autograft].

PURPOSE To compare the analgesic effect between dipyrone, 90 mg etoricoxib, and placebo after excision of primary pterygium with conjunctival autograft. METHODS Prospective, randomized, double-masked clinical trial. Three groups of 26 patients (one eye per patient) were submitted to surgery and received the study drugs for five days after surgery. A scale of pain was used, graduated from zero to ten, for patient evaluation in the first, third and fifth postoperative days. The pain was classified as absent (zero), mild (1 to 3), moderate (4 to 7) and severe (8 to 10). Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS, version 11.5. RESULTS A statistically significant difference was found between etoricoxib and dipyrone in the first and third postoperative days (p=0.001 and p=0.01; respectively). Etoricoxib was superior to placebo only in the first postoperative day (p=0.04). There was no significance in the comparison between dipyrone and placebo. CONCLUSIONS Analgesia of etoricoxib was superior to placebo in the first postoperative day and to dipyrone in the third and fifth days after excision of primary pterygium with conjunctival autograft. There was no significant difference between dipyrone and placebo in all time points.