Effect of cold saline irrigation on postoperative pain – A randomized control trial

Abstract

A randomized control trial was conducted, to assess the effect of cold saline irrigation on post-operative pain in patients presenting with pain due to pulpal and periapical diseases. A total of 30 patients with pulpal necrosis and symptomatic apical periodontitis presenting in teeth, (whose preoperative visual analog scale (vas) was higher than 3, Out of 5), were chosen for the randomized trial. The patients were randomly allocated into control and experimental groups, after completion of cleaning and shaping. The experimental group received 20ml cold saline (2.5c) irrigation delivered to the working length, with a sterile cold needle for 5 mins. The same protocol was used in the control group with normal saline solution at room temperature. The patients were then instructed to record the presence, duration and level of postoperative pain at 6 hours and 24 hours, and analgesic intake. Chi-square test was used to compare, the incidence of postoperative pain. Comparison of number of analgesics between two groups, duration of pain and differences in post-operative pain intensity (at 6 and 24 hours) was analyzed using Mann-Whitney test.There was no statistical difference between the two groups.There is no significant difference between the experimental and the control group. Further studies are required with a larger sample size to get statistically significant results.