Background: Although knowledge about the mechanism of pain has currently developed a lot, the provision of good and adequate anti-pain in postoperative conditions is still a challenge. In this case, opioids are drugs widely used in postoperative analgesics, but opioids are known to have many adverse side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and itching, to the risk of respiratory depression. Thus, this study aimed to compare the effects of preemptive management of ketorolac and paracetamol on postoperative pain scores, opioid consumption and postoperative patient satisfaction. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients who underwent surgery under general anesthesia were divided into three groups: the group receiving ketorolac (30 mg), the group receiving paracetamol (1,000 mg) and the control group receiving 0.9% NaCl 30 minutes before surgery. Then, the visual analog scale (VAS) scores, postoperative tramadol consumption, side effects and patient satisfaction were recorded. Results: Tramadol consumption was significantly higher in the control group than in the paracetamol and ketorolac groups (p < 0.001). The consumption of tramadol in the ketorolac group was higher than the paracetamol group at the 1st, 2nd and 8th-hour measurements (p = 0.048, p = 0.047, p = 0.040). However, the total tramadol consumption in the ketorolac and paracetamol groups did not differ statistically at the 12th and 24th hours. Conclusion: Preemptive management of ketorolac and paracetamol can reduce postoperative opioid consumption compared to the control group. Hence, both drugs may be a viable alternative for postoperative pain treatment to avoid the side effects of opioid drugs.
Hermawan et al. (Sat,) studied this question.