Korean J Pain.  2015 Jul;28(3):203-209. 10.3344/kjp.2015.28.3.203.

A Comparative Efficacy of Propacetamol and Ketorolac in Postoperative Patient Controlled Analgesia

• Heo BH
• Park JH
• Choi JI
• Kim WM
• Lee HG
• Cho SY
• Yoon MH

• KMID: 2149465
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3344/kjp.2015.28.3.203

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Ketorolac has been used as a postoperative analgesia in combination with opioids. However, the use of ketorolac may produce serious side effects in vulnerable patients. Propacetamol is known to induce fewer side effects than ketorolac because it mainly affects the central nervous system. We compared the analgesic effects and patient satisfaction levels of each drug when combined with fentanyl patient-controlled analgesia (PCA).
METHODS
The patients were divided into two groups, each with n = 46. The patients in each group were given 60 mg of ketorolac or 2 g of propacetamol (mixed with fentanyl) for 10 minutes. The patients were then given 180 mg of ketorolac or 8 g of propacetamol (mixed with fentanyl and ramosetron) through PCA. We assessed the visual analogue pain scale (VAS) at the time point immediately before administration (baseline) and at 15, 30, and 60 minutes, and 24 hours after administration. Also, the side effects of each regimen and each patient's degree of satisfaction were assessed.
RESULTS
There was a significant decline in the VAS score in both groups (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the VAS scores between the groups at each time point. Satisfaction scores between the groups showed no significant difference.
CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy of propacetamol is comparable to that of ketorolac in postoperative PCA with fentanyl.

Keyword

Efficacy; Ketorolac; Propacetamol; Patient-controlled analgesia; Visual analogue pain scale

MeSH Terms

Analgesia
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled*
Analgesics, Opioid
Central Nervous System
Fentanyl
Humans
Ketorolac*
Pain Measurement
Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis
Patient Satisfaction
Analgesics, Opioid
Fentanyl
Ketorolac

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Pain treatment satisfaction scale.

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  Fig. 2 Flow diagram.

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  Fig. 3 VAS score after operation. There were significant VAS score declines in both groups (P < 0.05). But, there were no significant differences of VAS score between groups at each time point.

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