A double blind comparative study of the effect of nimesulide and naproxen on postoperative pain and swelling following periradicular surgery

Abstract

Background and objective: Pain and swelling are common postoperative complications that occur after periradicular surgery. A double blind comparative study was, therefore, designed to evaluate the effect of nimesulide and naproxen on the postoperative pain and swelling following periradicular surgery on one of the upper anterior teeth. Methods: Sixty patients with a periapical lesion that required periradicular surgery were included in the study. They were divided into three groups according to the type of the postoperative analgesia they are going to administered. Group I: Nimesulide administered group. Group II: Naproxen administered group. Group III: Placebo administered group. Patients of each group were informed about the nature of the study and given the same shape of capsules. They are asked to assess their postoperative pain and swelling for 5 days by using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: The results showed that both nimesulide and naproxen are effective in reducing the postoperative pain and swelling following periradicular surgery, and the nimesulide is found better than naproxen in this regard. Conclusion: In this study both nimesulide and naproxen were significantly more effective than their corresponding placebo for reducing postoperative pain and swelling following periradicular surgery, but nimesulide administered group expressed significantly little pain in comparison to naproxen administered group, and the nimesulide administered group showed lesser swelling in the 2nd and 3rd postoperative day than those administered with naproxen.&nbsp