Lornoxicam versus tramadol for post-operative pain relief in patients undergoing ENT procedures

ABSTRACT

Pain following ear-nose and throat surgery is one of the most important complaints for which, several drugs are used. This prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled trial was designed to compare the analgesic effect of tramadol versus lornoxicam for post-operative pain relief in patients undergoing ENT surgical procedures. One hundred and twenty patients of ASA class I-II, who had undergone elective ENT surgical procedures under general anesthesia, were assigned in a randomized manner into three equal groups. Group L received lornoxicam8 mg IV, Group T received tramadol 1 mg/kg IV and Group C received IV saline after induction of anesthesia before the start of the surgery. Post-operative pain was assessed using the visual analogue scale [VAS] and sedation level was evaluated during stay in the post-anesthesia care unit with a four-point sedation scale. Intraoperative blood loss was estimated using the Five-Point Scale. Adverse events in the first 24 h post-operative were recorded. The VAS pain scores were significantly higher in Group C as compared with those in Groups L and T at 30 min and 1, 2, 4and 6 h post-operatively, with no significant difference between Group L and Group T. The amount of morphine consumption post-operatively was significantly lower in Group L [5.2 +/- 2.5 mg] and Group T [5.0 +/- 2.0 mg] as compared with that in Group C [7.4 +/- 2.3 mg] [P = 0.001]. The time for the first analgesic requirement was significantly less in Group L [92.62 +/- 24.23 min] and Group T [88 +/- 21.43 min] as compared with that in Group C [42.82 +/- 25.61 min], with no significant difference between the other two groups. Estimated intraoperative blood loss score by the surgeons showed no significant difference between the three groups. The most frequent side-effects in the three groups were nausea and vomiting, and their incidence was significantly higher in the placebo group as compared with the other two groups. Tramadol 1 mg/kg was comparable to lornoxicam 8 mg for post-operative pain relief in patients undergoing ENT surgical procedures; both drugs helped to reduce the post-operative opioid requirement and consequently minimized the related adverse effects of the opioids