A Prospective Case-control Study on the Comparison of Postoperative Pain Relief with Transdermal Diclofenac Patch and Injection Diclofenac

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim This is a randomized case-control study to know the efficacy of postoperative pain relief with transdermal diclofenac patch 200 mg and comparison with injection diclofenac sodium 75 mg. Materials and methods A total of 100 patients with head and neck cancer were included in the study and were randomly divided into two groups (A and B). Anesthetic procedure was standardized. A transdermal diclofenac diethylamine patch of 200 mg was applied to group A, just before the skin closure. And in group B, injection diclofenac was given 8 hourly. In group A, injection diclofenac was given on an as-needed basis whenever patient had visual analog scale (VAS) of pain > 5. Visual analog scale at 2nd, 4th, 8th, 12th, and 24th hour postoperatively was recorded for 5 days. Injection diclofenac needed in groups A and B was recorded for five postoperative days and the mean number of injections of diclofenac per patient per day needed in both groups was calculated. Results In group A, we needed only 0.96 injections (diclofenac 75 mg)/patient on the first day and no injection was needed further, while in group B, we had to use three injections/day/ patient. Visual analog scale and pain relief were more steady and better in group A as compared with group B. Conclusion Transdermal patch of diclofenac diethylamine 200 mg is very effective in providing postoperative analgesia and is better than intravenous injection diclofenac 75 mg. How to cite this article Singh SP, Jain DK, Das S, Jain S. A Prospective Case-control Study on the Comparison of Postoperative Pain Relief with Transdermal Diclofenac Patch and Injection Diclofenac. Int J Head Neck Surg 2015;6(4):129-133.