Influence of a single dose of indomethacin on some biochemical changes and on postoperative intestinal paralysis following minor surgery. A prospective randomized double‐blind study

The influence of a single dose of indomethacin on the surgical stress response was investigated in a double-blind study including 43 patients scheduled for elective operation of inguinal hernia. Indomethacin or placebo was administered rectally 1 h before the start of operation. All patients had a standardized general anaesthetic. Blood samples for leucocyte count, sedimentation rate, iron and haemoglobin, and measurements of body temperature were taken preoperatively and on the day after surgery. Blood samples for glucose were taken preoperatively, and 4, 8 and 24 h after skin incision. In both groups a significant increase in leucocyte count and sedimentation rate as well as a decrease in serum iron were found, but there was no difference between the groups. Plasma glucose increased from 4 to 8 h after skin incision in the indomethacin group, but not in the placebo group. The postoperative need for methadon, the time needed to regain normal intestinal function and the hospital stay were the same in the two groups, and body temperature showed no change. These findings indicate that a single dose of indomethacin given preoperatively increased plasma glucose but had no effect on the other parameters studied.