Authors
1
Anesthesiologist, Assistant Professor of Intensive Care, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
2
Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
3
Anesthesiologist, Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
4
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
5
PhD Student of Neuroscience, School of Advanced Technologies in Medical Sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Sari, Iran.
6
Department of Orthopedic, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
7
Orthopedic Resident, Department of Orthopedic, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Abstract
Background
The aim of the present study was to compare the postoperative pain intensity between pethidine and paracetamol (acetaminophen) recipients with tibial fractures who underwent nailing surgery.
Materials and Methods: This study is a double-blind clinical trial conducted on candidates (in the age range of 18-50 year-old) of orthopedic tibia fracture surgery referred to Shahid Bahonar Hospital in Kerman, Iran, in 2019. Samples were selected by the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to paracetamol and pethidine groups. Spinal anesthesia and 0.05 bupivacaine were used for all patients. The pethidine group (1 mg/kg body weight), and the paracetamol group (15 mg/kg body weight) were injected half an hour before 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery under local anesthesia. The mean postoperative pain intensity in terms of VAS scores at 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery was compared between the two groups. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 19.
Results: A total of 96 patients participated in the study. The results of the independent t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the mean pain intensity of patients in paracetamol (65.47 ± 9.88), and pethidine (69.97 ± 11.65) recipients six hours after surgery (P=0.044). There was also a statistically significant difference between the paracetamol (45.37 ± 8.63) and pethidine (49.95 ± 9.93) recipients in terms of the mean pain intensity (P=0.018). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics, i.e. age, weight, height, gender, and smoking.
Conclusion: Based on the results, paracetamol is more effective than pethidine in relieving postoperative pain in patients with tibial fractures.
Keywords
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