Comparison of analgesic effect between gabapentin and diclofenac on post-operative pain in patients undergoing tonsillectomy

Background

Tonsillectomy is a common procedure causing considerable postoperative pain. Postoperative pain intensity of 60 - 70 in the scale of visual analog scale (VAS) has been reported up to 3 - 4 days which could continue until 11 days after the surgery.

Objectives

The current study aimed to compare the analgesic effect of gabapentin and diclofenac on pain after tonsillectomy with the control group.

Patients and Methods

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 90 patients aged 10-25 years, ASA classes I and II were randomly selected to receive 20 mg/kg oral gabapentin (n = 30), 1.0 mg / kg rectal diclofenac (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) preoperatively. Pain was evaluated postoperatively on a visual analogue scale at 2, 6, 12 and 24 h. Opioid consumption in the first 24 h after surgery and the side effects were also recorded.

Results

There was no significant difference in terms of age, sex, and time of surgery in the three groups. Patients in the gabapentin and diclofenac groups had significantly lower pain scores at all-time intervals than those in the placebo group. The total meperidine consumed in the gabapentin (14.16 ± 6.97 P = 0.001) and diclofenac (16.66 ± 8.95, P = 0.004) groups was significantly less than that of the placebo (33.4 ± 13.97) group. The frequency of side effects such as vomiting, dizziness, and headache was not significantly different among the groups.

Conclusions

It can be concluded that gabapentin and diclofenac reduced postoperative pain and opioid consumption without obvious side effects.