Postoperative analgesic effect of diclofenac suppository versus diclofenac I.M. injection

ABSTRACT

All surgical procedures, whether minor or major, are followed by some degree of pain and discomfor[1]. Many drugs, including narcotics and non-narcotics, have been employed by different techniques to overcome this problem[2]. Diclofenac sodium, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is commonly used via oral, intra-muscular or rectal route to produce analgesia in the post-operative period. This randomised clinical trial was conducted on 100 patients in Surgical Unit III of Civil Hospital, Karachi to compare the efficacy, safety and analgesic duration of diclofenac suppository versus its intramuscular administration. The results show that the average duration of pain free interval was greater in the Suppository Group [12.90 hours] than in the Injection Group [11.85 hours] and the duration of pain free mobilization was shorter in the Suppository Group [15.54 hours] than the Injection Group [18.32 hours]. There were no side effects amongst patients of the Suppository Group and they were also discharged earlier. However, no significant difference was observed in the quality of analgesia. It is, therefore, concluded that diclofenac sodium in suppository form is an effective, safe, practical and better way of providing post-operative analgesia than the intra-muscular injection. Besides it is also cost effective as a single dose of diclofenac suppository costs less than the injection