Comparison of Effectiveness between Diclofenac Suppositories and Injection Diclofenac in Abdominal Surgeries
Keywords:
Pain, Post-operative, Visual Analog Scale, Analgesia, DiclofenacAbstract
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of diclofenac suppositories and injection diclofenac in pain relief after abdominal surgeries.
Methodology: This quasi-experimental study was conducted at the West Surgical Ward, Mayo Hospital, Lahore from June 2022 to January 2023 after taking approval from ethical committee. Total 136 patients undergoing elective and emergency abdominal surgeries were enrolled in the study via non-probability convenience sampling technique. Informed written consent was taken from all the patients. The patients were divided into two groups (group A & B). Group A was given diclofenac suppositories and group B was given injection diclofenac via the intramuscular (I/M) route. The pain scores were recorded by using visual analogue scale (VAS) at 0, 8, 16, and 24 hours. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.
Results: There was a significant decrease in mean pain scores at 0, 8, 16, and 24 hours post-operatively in group A as compared to group B. The maximum difference in the means was observed at 16 hours post-operatively (p <0.001). Only 15(11.1%) patients in group A required rescue analgesia, while more than half the patients in group B required rescue analgesia for effective pain relief (p=0.001). The proportion of patients experiencing adverse effects of the drug in group A was significantly smaller (8.1%) as compared to group B (25.7%) (p=0.001).
Conclusion: Rectal suppositories of diclofenac were significantly more effective for post-operative pain relief among patients undergoing abdominal surgeries as compared to diclofenac intramuscular injection.
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