Intravenous indomethacin prevents venipuncture inflammatory sequelae

One hundred general or orthopaedic surgery patients (ASA I-II) were randomly given either indomethacin (25-50 mg bolus plus infusion, 5-7.5 mg h-1) in lactated Ringer solution intravenously in one hand and only lactated Ringer solution into a corresponding vein of the other hand (50 patients) or only lactated Ringer solution intravenously in both hands (50 patients), starting before anaesthesia induction and ending at 7 a.m. the following morning. All anaesthetic drugs were given equally divided into both drips. The need for additional analgesia as well as venipuncture and infusion sequelae were registered on the postoperative morning in a double-blind fashion. The mean +/- s.d. oxycodone dose in the postoperative observation period was lower in the indomethacin group (18 +/- 16 mg) than in the control group (27 +/- 20 mg) (n.s.). There was a lower number of patients requiring oxycodone more than once in the indomethacin group than in the control group (P less than 0.05). Fewer patients in the indomethacin group (22%) had inflammatory changes at the venipuncture site than in the control group (46%) (P less than 0.05). There was no difference between hands; i.e. in patients given indomethacin inflammatory changes were equally common in both hands. No thrombophlebitic complications developed, which was confirmed by a mailed questionnaire (response 96/100) 2 weeks after surgery.