Efficacy of transdermal diclofenac patch versus intramuscular diclofenac for acute post operative pain

Dr. K.Venkateswara Rao; Dr. Anuhya Rambhatla

Volume : V, Issue : XI, November - 2016

Efficacy of transdermal diclofenac patch versus intramuscular diclofenac for acute post operative pain

Dr. K. Venkateswara Rao, Dr. Anuhya Rambhatla

Abstract :

BACKGROUND: We compared the analgesic efficacy of a transdermal diclofenac patch 100 mg and intramuscular diclofenac sodium 75 mg for postoperative analgesia and their associated side–effects . METHODOLOGY: 60 patients in the study were randomly allocated to 2 groups of 30 each. ?e anaesthetic procedure was standardised. A transdermal diclofenac patch 100 mg was applied to the patients in the study group 10–12 hrs before surgery. In the control group, 75 mg of diclofenac sodium was given intramuscularly half an hour before the end of surgery. Pain was assessed postoperatively at 2, 6, and 12–hour intervals using a visual analogue scale (VAS). An injection of Tramadol 2 mg/kg was administered intravenously as rescue analgesia. ?e study ended when the patients asked for rescue analgesia or when the VAS score was > 5. RESULTS: ?e mean duration of analgesia was higher in study group (9hrs 45min) than that in the control group ( 7hrs 8 min) which was statistically significant ( p value 0.0001). CONCLUSION : A single application of a transdermal diclofenac patch is as effective as a single dose of intramuscular diclofenac for acute postoperative pain and provides longer duration of analgesia without any significant side–effect