ABSTRACT
Background: Periodontal surgeries are often followed by post-operative pain and discomfort which is a major concern to both the clinician and the patient. Every effort is being made to reduce the post-operative pain, one amongst them being the pre-operative medication with NSAIDS like ketorolac tromethamine. This type of agent acts peripherally by inhibiting the release of prostaglandins and minimizing the local inflammatory response hence it may be advantageous in reducing post-operative pain and discomfort. Thus, the efficacy of preoperative ketorolac tromethamine administration on periodontal postoperative pain was evaluated. Material & Methods: Two groups of 15 patients each were selected for the study. One group received 20 mg ketorolac immediately before periodontal flap surgery, and the other group doesn’t received any drug. Combination of Diclofenac sodium 50 mg & Paracetamol 325mg tablets was provided as “rescue analgesic. The visual analog scale modified with using numerical rating scales and Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used to estimate pain. Postoperative pain was assessed hourly for the first 12 h on the day of surgery, and 4 times daily on the 1st and 2nd postsurgical days. Timing and dose of rescue analgesic remedication were also recorded. Results: Results indicated that preoperative treatment with ketorolac significantly reduced initial pain intensity and delayed the onset of postoperative pain as compared to no premedication group. Incidence and amount of rescue medication consumption was small in ketorolac groups. No adverse reactions related to preoperative medication were observed. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that 20-mg ketorolac administered immediately before periodontal surgery was effective for alleviating the early postoperative painful sequelae, affected delayed pain levels and postoperative rescue analgesic consumption.